


Dark Secrets

by Kirabaros



Series: Chronicles of Absolution Season 1 [5]
Category: Chronicles of Absolution, Supernatural
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-04-18 13:52:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 76,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14214534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirabaros/pseuds/Kirabaros
Summary: 1.05. The situation seems back to normal in Hudson, Wyoming but all is not as it seems. Continuing from Darkened Rage, Sam is hard put to find out what is going on with his brother while he searches for a missing friend.





	1. Chapter 1

_Then_

… Sam made a grim line with his mouth. Something was up with Dean. “Dean I want to talk.”

“Now you want to talk?” Dean looked up from his packing. “Why bother Sam? Seems you prefer to talk to her more than your brother…”

… _Not sure. Town’s full of mild mannered people until one suddenly goes postal. Attacks have been random. The latest was an old lady, the owner of the local market. Police aren’t releasing too many details…_

 … The whispers calmed down enough. Ramos knew he had gained favor with Lenya since she loved direct approaches on specific targets. He smiled as he listened and then replied, “Perhaps the hell bitch might be able to get us close enough for the direct approach. You would need to be here to coordinate those efforts…”

… the customer who was a young man with rather messy light brown hair and hazel green eyes that appeared to have a bored expression but they had a twinge of alertness. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder and was dressed in jeans, t-shirt and a jacket complete with workman’s boots…

… “No,” Dean admitted staring straight ahead. “Thanks and you are right. I am worried. Yellow Eyes has some big plan and Sam is a part of it. I… don’t know what to do…”

… “Little things bother me Sam. Angie bothers me and you bother me. Damn this whole stinking job with Yellow Eyes bothers me!”

Sam tried not to react to the accusation that Dean found him annoying. They both got on each other’s nerves at times and right now he had to focus on getting Dean calm. “Calm down Dean. Yeah there are things that would piss anybody off but do you have to get into a fight over it?”

… Ramos listened grinning. This was going to be good. It was partially mingled in jealousy. He replied, “Sounds like you’re wondering if she’ll take your place in your brother’s life.” This was going to be a profitable night…

… “I once said that when people find out things about me, I am either still a fellow hunter or become the hunted…”

… She started towards the coffeemaker when something hard hit her across the back of her head. She fell forward and hit the ground seeing nothing but darkness…

_Now_

A wind blew through creating a chill that went straight through to the bones. It traveled down deep into the bones creating a film of ice that spoke of darkness arriving. It has been said by the old ones, the followers of the old way, that to feel the chill deep in the bones meant that death would be coming and usually to someone close. Perhaps it would be a welcome thing in some cases but that was considered guilt talking or intense pain.

The darkness could be considered a warm blanket. It was comfortable to be in but for the chill that seeped through into the bones. Darkness could not comfort that chill. Slowly the darkness began to fade and light began to filter in. Eyelids heavy with sleep began to open. Senses became aware of a dull throb and a slight burning sensation. Sore muscles made themselves known. Everything came alive as the heavy eyelids slowly opened.

The room was bare. All that could be seen at the moment was a wooden wall and a broken window. The floor was wooden and full of dirt. The room belonged to a time that was long gone. That much was clear. It was hard to see clearly due to the dull throb that was starting to pound through the head. The heavy eyelids started to close again. Darkness was a welcome thing. It would ease the dull throb.

“Such an interesting and pitiful sight you make.”

The heavy eyelids started to open again. Angela tried to ignore the dull throb that was permeating her head. She lifted her head slowly to look around for the source of the voice. She felt the familiar sting around her wrists and looked down to find them cuffed to the arms of a chair. Her upper arms were bound tightly and strapped to the back of a chair. Her ankles were tied to the front legs. It was effective, especially the cuffs. She hadn’t seen a pair of them in years and wondered who it was that bound her.

The dull throb intensified and she struggled not to unleash the tears that threatened as her vision began to clear. She had been hit hard before and by things that were a lot stronger than a typical human but this hurt worse than a mother fucker. It was as if she had gotten hit in the head with one of those batons that douche Nebi used on her.

Her eyes were open wide now even though she squinted every now and then to focus her eyes. She was able to observe closer what was holding her and her surroundings. A glance at her wrists and she noticed the cuffs. It was child’s play to slip them but when she wriggled them, she felt the familiar sting and stopped. Adamantium silver again. That was the only problem since the rest of her body was tied with rope. It was a marvel that something so small could keep someone with strength like hers rooted to that spot.

Slowly lifting her head trying to minimize the headache that was raging, she looked to find herself in a bare room that looked like it was mostly built of wood. In fact it reminded her of the log cabins that she had stayed in when was it? History books would say in the time of the old West and she had certainly been around that long and she had stayed in hunting cabins before when on a hunt. This place though was old and a bit run down. Hell the one window she was facing was cracked and broken so that told her that she was in an abandoned structure. The question was where was that abandoned structure located? It was hard to tell since it was pitch black outside. Angela couldn’t even tell if the moon was out or not.

“Definitely pitiful.”

Angela lifted her head suddenly and was greeted with a severe headache. It was going to be a meadow walk compared to hell getting over it but it hurt all the same. She tried to get her eyes to focus and find the source of the voice that she was hearing. It was a woman’s voice and that she was certain of. With her head ringing in a dull throb it was hard for her to focus on the voice itself and yet there was something familiar about it. She ventured, “I am a pitiful being?”

There was quiet for some time. It was as if whoever it was didn’t have any idea how to respond. It was a puzzle and because she couldn’t see the whole room. She moved her head to try and listen for any sign of a person. The lack of sound was disturbing. She called out again but this time she managed to make it sound like a taunt. She didn’t have the capabilities at the time to deal with repercussions in the use of sarcasm but it seemed like a good idea at the time and she would rather go down fighting than lie down like a dog. “What’s the matter? A cat got your tongue? You seemed to be good at giving insults.”

The only response was the wind that was whistling through the broken windows. There was a slight creak from a nearby door. It creaked as it opened some. Then she heard it. There was the distinct sound of footsteps. They sounded familiar, like a shadow or a faded memory.

“And so are you. Sarcasm suits you when you choose to use it.”

Angela turned her head every which way trying to see behind her. It was clear that the person was standing behind her and making every effort to stay out of her line of sight. She tried to twist but it was hard with the cuffs burning her wrists every time they rubbed. Glancing down, she could already see welts starting to form. The last time she got them, Sam pestered her about it and insisted on at least applying a salve. _And that was before the kid begged me to play bodyguard again._ She gave a slight smile at the memory and it made her forget the burns for a time. She replied, “I find that it is a useful foil for finding out what I need to know. I like to listen to people who like to talk.”

A hand touched the back of her head right where she had been hit. The voice spoke again, “Hmm that’s going to leave a nasty welt. I would give you a towel since you are bleeding but your hands are otherwise occupied.”

Angela couldn’t help but chuckle. It was typical to find humor and it detracted from the pain. It also occurred to her that she was not a typical prisoner. She replied, “Well that can be changed if you release my hands. Then I can be on my merry way and maybe get a glimpse of your ugly mug.”

The hand continued to run its fingers, probing the cut caused by the hit. After a spell it removed itself from her head. Angela could hear the wood creaking but she couldn’t discern if it was from her movements or that of the owner of the voice. It was clear that she wasn’t going to see whoever it was that was taunting her so she might as well take the risk. She shook her arms to see about getting free and found that maybe she could wriggle the arms to the chair loose and free herself that way. She did have a pick hidden in one of her pockets and if she could get free…

Then something hit the back of her head hard. It was right in the same spot as where she had been hit in her room. Angela gritted her teeth when the blow came. She couldn’t help but grunt out a cry of pain. It brought to mind that old saying about the dangers of opening up old wounds even though that didn’t seem to apply here at the moment. She managed to get out Dean’s favorite phrase to use when pissed, “Sonofabitch!”

“Naughty, naughty. Trying to escape.”

Angela was past being polite right now. She grunted out in anger, “You would too if you were taken against your will. It’s not rocket science.” She gripped the arms of the chair and started trying to pull the arms up.

Her reward was another smack to the back of the head. All it did was to increase Angela’s anger at being held against her will. She hated that feeling. The voice then said, “Keep trying and you’ll just get punished and the real punishment hasn’t even begun yet.”

That caused Angela to pause in her attempts. Was this person going to torture her? It wasn’t the first time she had been at the mercy at someone who had a vendetta against her. Now that she was alert, she could recognize the voice and she nearly froze in shock. It couldn’t be… could it? Being strapped to the chair prevented her from seeing what she was hearing. Maybe she could convince the person to allow them to be seen. She replied, “And what is that? An interrogation complete with torture? Rather clichéd don’t you think?”

The voice responded. It was familiar but it had a hardened edge to it. It was full of hatred and not like what Angela remembered. She didn’t want to believe it. “And yet it is the most effective way to get what cannot be gotten by simply asking. Don’t worry though, there will be plenty of it to go around.”

“That’s a relief. I was afraid I was going to get stuck with just you,” Angela replied, her voice thick with sarcasm. She struggled again to see if she could get a response. All she did though was make the already red welts on her wrists redder and wider from all the rubbing. If she kept it up, they could blister and bleed. “So are you the kind that likes to hide or do you face what you are torturing?”

“I think you know who I am so what would be the point?”

“Possibly to savor the moment.”

“Or maybe it is to confirm to your eyes what your ears tell you to be true. In your mind you are thinking that such a thing can’t be possible. And yet your ears are telling you, that what you hear it possible and that it must be so. A fragile thing the memory is. I wonder how many you have that will make themselves known.”

“I don’t have to tell you anything.”

“You won’t have to. Your mind will speak for you. Still there is no harm in showing you what your ears hear.” Then there was the sound of footsteps and wood creaking.

Angela straightened up her head and turned it to see who was coming. Then the owner of the voice came into view. Angela felt her eyes open wide as she saw the person. It couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible. She had seen it happen. She was there. There was nothing left but ash. It wasn’t possible. Angela felt the air in her lungs constrict as she looked at her companion with a wide eyed expression. She struggled to take deep breaths and watched as the owner of the voice gave a malicious smile, the hatred plain in her eyes. Finally Angela managed to let out one word, “Mary?”

****

_12 Hours Earlier_

Sam was waiting to take a shower. It had been a long night searching for the abandoned building and rescuing his brother Dean and that Natalia girl from that store. It was strange that he met a psychic and in the middle of an Indian reservation. Then again he had seen stranger things and that was the nature of the job. To add to the list was the fact that there was such a thing as a demon hierarchy and different types of demons.

Sam glanced at the Orion blade that he had tossed on his bed when he got back to the motel. It looked dull like it had been left out in the elements for too long and nondescript as it nestled against the shotgun he had taken on the hunt. It was a unique weapon and he had used it to kill a demon, the very demon that had been messing around with this town as well as his brother.

Thinking about his brother caused Sam to glance at the bathroom door. He had let his brother have first dibs on the shower mostly to be nice about it since Dean had it rough being manipulated by the demon and Sam could tell he needed the time to cool down since he had been pissed about being a demon’s bitch. Dean even mentioned that he felt bad about getting angry over the stupid stuff and asked him if Angela was okay with it. Sam had reassured him that it was okay and thought that maybe Dean was going to be okay.

He certainly was when he came out of the bathroom looking like he was ready to go on a hunt. Sam observed though as he started making it look he had been busy with the weapons. He put the shotgun back in the duffle and in the process hid the Orion blade with the covers. Dean had been too out of it to notice it and Sam thought it would be best to keep pointy things away from Dean, at least the ones that he had some measure of control over. Dean’s personal stash was off limits and he didn’t want to raise suspicion. “You seem to be in a better mood.”

“Hot shower does that Sam. It’s not like those showers from that one place with all the bugs. Man I loved those.”

Sam gave a slight frown to indicate that Dean was being weird, not that the elder Winchester noticed. “Right. So I guess I’ll take mine. You gonna be okay by yourself?”

“Dude, I’ve been taking care of myself since you wore diapers. I’m just going to grab something to eat and I’ll be right back,” Dean replied as he put on his favorite jacket and checked his pockets to make sure he could make it back into the room. “You want anything? One of your girly salads, Samantha?”

Sam let the comment slide. He replied, “Whatever, Dean. Maybe just a coffee.” He began to pick through his clothes looking for clean ones. They were going to have to do laundry soon and he could already hear the comments and jokes about personal hygiene from Angela.

“Alright. If Angie comes by make sure she didn’t forget the pie.”

“She never does.”

“Right because you’re the one that forgets,” Dean replied with a smirk. “You know for a College Boy you sure have a piece of crap memory when it comes to the most important stuff.”

Sam gave a slight eye roll as he glanced at his brother. He grinned as he replied, “In your book pie ranks up there as important as with the Impala and your music collection.”

“The important essentials when on the job,” Dean countered.

“And here I was thinking that having salt, iron and silver were the essentials,” Sam countered. He smiled at his brother who was trying to come up with a rejoinder for that.

Dean looked at the grin Sam was giving him and replied, “Shut up Sam. At least I don’t have stupid girly habits and a desire to starve myself on rabbit food.” He picked up the keys to the room and toyed with the idea of driving the Impala. The short walk to that store that sold just about everything was probably the best thing. “Don’t forget the bubble bath, princess.”

“Bite me jerk.”

“Bitch.”

Sam watched his brother leave the room thinking that there probably was nothing to worry about. He gathered his things and went into the shower. Turning it on, he realized that the hot water was gone and made a bitch face a nothing in particular. If Dean had been there, it would have been directed at him. He muttered, “Dean…” He could practically see Dean’s face grinning.

At least Sam wasn’t in the shower to feel the full burst of icy cold water. That would have added to the humiliation and the laughter that would have been sure to follow. He let the water run until the heat started coming in again and took his shower. It was quick since the water decided to be temperamental with him and he was out quicker than he had ever been.

The quiet gave him time to hide the Orion blade near his bed and tidy up. He would probably get ribbed about it later by Dean since keeping things tidy was, for Sam, some semblance of control over things that were largely beyond it. Keeping meticulous order of the gear was a job that had been ingrained by his father. Some may call it being OCD but gear like the guns required attention if they were to continue to function properly and dad was a Marine. He checked the shotgun that he had been using and made sure that it was ready to travel.

Everything was tidy by the time rolled around when to expect Dean back. Sam was on his laptop reading for anything that might be a potential job. Even though he was tired and ready to fall asleep, he was going to wait for Dean to get back. His phone rang and recognizing the caller ID, he answered, “Dean?”

_Sam, line’s longer than it should be so your decaf double tall latte is going to take a little longer. Just keep your skirt on._

“Yeah whatever Dean,” Sam replied as he walked to look out the window to the room. He saw nothing out of place. “So how much longer will you be?”

_Give or take about ten minutes. Then don’t forget the thrilling walk back to the motel. If I get jumped by coyotes I’m taking it out of your ass._

Sam couldn’t help but chuckle. “If anything Dean, the coyotes would be afraid of you and your obsession with mullet rock.”

_Bitch. Anyway I figured I give you a call since you’re worrying worse than a mother hen. I seriously think someone switched bassinets at birth with you._

“Eat me jerk. I’ll see you when you get in,” Sam replied. He chuckled when he heard Dean’s sarcastic reply on the other end and then the hang up tone. He clicked his phone off and put it on the nightstand and went back to surfing the internet. A dull throb started to occur near his temple and he thought that it was his injuries from the night before catching up. Absently he rubbed the sore area with his hand and continued to scroll the pages.

It was about a minute when he felt the need to rub his eyes. After doing so, he thought he saw something on his screen. Blinking he realized that there was nothing unusual about the screen and continued to read but the dull throb became more intense. Thinking that maybe an aspirin would help, Sam got up to search through his duffle for his personal bottle that he kept as a rule since the first vision. He was almost to his bed when a sharp pain coursed through his skull.

Sam squinted his eyes shut in response to the pain and pressed the palm of his hand to his forehead. The response was even more intense. For once he wished that he had a talent like Angela’s as he grunted in pain as the images started filtering through his mind. He didn’t realize that he had dropped to his knees and was cradling his head in his hands.

_It was an abandoned cabin. The room was bare except for the broken window but no land forms could be seen._

Sam managed to crawl to the nightstand and grab his cell phone. It was automatic for him to speed dial Dean’s phone. He tried not to panic when he got the voice mail prompt right away. He figured that Dean was talking to someone, probably Bobby or Caleb or someone. Pressing a fist to forehead he dialed the next number. It was agonizing listening to the ring tone.

_In the middle of the room was a chair and the back was facing Sam. Someone was sitting in it. Wait, they were tied to the chair with a thick rope. She was struggling against the ropes and pulling at the arms of the chair. Sam couldn’t make out who it was at the moment but there was someone else in the room._

Sam breathed a small sigh of relief when the person he wanted answered, “Bobby.”

_Sam? You all right son?_

Sam grunted as he tried to remain coherent. This hurt worse than a motherfucker and he wondered why even though the obvious was the tie to the yellow-eyed demon. He replied, “Bobby, I’m having a vision.” He couldn’t help but let out a grunt of pain.

_Sam? How bad?_

Sam let out a yelp of pain and wished Dean was there. Hell anybody, even Angela would be welcome. “It’s bad Bobby.” He leaned against the bed as he sat on the floor.

_The view shifted as Sam could make out red welts all over the wrists of the girl. He had seen that type of injury before and he tried to move forward but he couldn’t. The girl was talking to someone but he couldn’t make out who it was yet._

Sam pressed the phone tighter to his ear on one side and his fist on the other. “Bobby it’s bad. God it hurts!”

_He saw her face looking sad and defiant at the same time. She also looked broken and he could see the blood from a cut on her lip. She was looking at someone and he turned to take a look. What he saw had him shocked. He saw his mother but her eyes were full of hatred._

Sam couldn’t hear Bobby’s voice as he tried to not pass out but the pain was so intense that he could see black spots forming in his vision. “Bobby… tried… to call… help… grr…”

_His mother was holding something ready to swing. Sudden the image shifted like a hallucination. Instead of his mother, he saw…_

Sam hit the ground with a dull thud. His hand still clutched his phone in a tight grip. It was a wonder it didn’t break under the strain. The only sound that could be heard was Bobby’s voice calling out.

_Sam? Sam!_


	2. Chapter 2

The sun was barely showing throw the window by the time Austin made it back to his loft in the barn of the ranch. He hadn’t come across Old Mad Johnson on the way in and considered it a good sign since the old man made it clear that he knew things. Austin looked longingly at his bed and sighed and made to get ready for a day of work. As far as he was concerned, he was still on the job and that meant keeping up pretenses for now. Besides he had been in similar situations before, being up all night and then all day. He was a school guardian after all.

He changed his clothes in favor for ones that would handle smelling like a horse’s ass or whatever crazy scheme the old man wanted him to do. He couldn’t resist jumping from his loft to the ground floor and did so with effortless grace as he stood up. Austin glanced around looking for what chore to begin first when he heard the whinnies of the horses. He gave a slight shrug. Might as well feed them first.

Mixing feed was not a hard job and in fact Austin could do it in his sleep once he knew the correct mixture for each horse. It allowed him to at least let his mind rest so he was getting some version of shut eye. He started with the younger colts which were finicky if they weren’t fed on time. They were the easiest since they were young. They weren’t quite broken in completely and Austin wondered if he might have the chance to break one.

“Done what you needed to do?”

Austin paused in his pouring to glance at his employer. He could swear that the old man must have something besides human blood in his veins at the rate he could surprise him and seem to know things that others wouldn’t. Then again humans always tried to know things, which is why they have spies and the like and he knew a thing or two about that. He looked at the old man and replied, “The town is back to normal.”

“That is good. So much anger and hate is not good. The spirits were upset over that.”

Austin made a slight hum and went back to feeding the yearlings and two year olds. He didn’t have to look to tell that the old man was still there watching him. He replied, “And what do the spirits say now?”

Austin knew that the spirits were the ones that preferred to remain here in this world and they often made good observers and sources of information when you had a hard time finding something. Some people had a talent when it came to communicating with them and he was not surprised if the old man was that good. He accepted it good naturedly but it was Angie that had the most respect for it.

Thinking about it had been good to see her again and she seemed happy to see him. Well at least happy to see him when he dropped in. It was a good thing too because she needed it then. When the whole thing was over and the townspeople went back to normal, he tried to find her while keeping an eye on the Natalia girl but she seemed to have done that disappearing act she did so well. She didn’t show up until they were in the store.

“The town is safe but evil still lingers.”

Austin paused a moment when he heard that. At least the younglings were fed. Now he could work on the elders. He picked up the buckets and started towards the mares. He started pouring the feed. As he was doing so, he replied, “The people were released. That means the demon is dead. I was told so.”

“It still lingers. It is thick like poison.”

Austin looked at the old man as he continued his walk to feeding the horses. “How can it be so?”

The old man had been watching his hired hand ever since he had started on his chores. He knew that he would play a part in the events to come. He had seen it while he was praying for the success of the eagle that came to see him before the battle. The warrior that came after her had a part to play as well and he could see that the warrior and the eagle were connected in a way that they couldn’t see yet. The girl of the old coyote, as he called her, would be involved as well. This one though was what they called the wild card.

The old man had known that his hired hand wasn’t human the moment he walked up to him at the garage. In fact he had known that the boy had good intentions but chose to grill him the night before. The boy’s kind did have those that used good intentions to only help themselves. It was after the boy proved himself that he had let him go to help Natalia. Observing the boy fighting gave him insight to his character. Watching him now, he learned that he was dedicated above his own welfare. He replied to the boy’s question, “Evil lurks where it has touched and it lingers. It has not finished what it has started.”

Austin paused to look at the old man square in the eye. “Then what must I do?”

The old man returned the look with an inscrutable expression. It was obvious to him but the boy needed a push. Then he would find the way he needed. He replied, “Help the warrior find courage.” The old man said nothing more and turned to head back to the house. There were things that needed to be taken care of. He did pause to say one last thing, “Break Child of the Water today you will.”

After the old man left, Austin couldn’t help but mutter, “I’ll do whatever you want me to, Yoda.”

It didn’t take Austin that much longer to feed the horses and the rest of the stock. He took his time with the animals since for some strange reason they didn’t fear him as they did with others like him. Maybe his spending too much time with her helped with that and her scent was left on him to some degree. Besides the time spent with them allowed him to think about what the old man had said.

It bothered him that the old man said that it wasn’t over. If there was still something here, he was going to have to inform the council about it but then they would ask his sources. Even though the council consisted of beings from all the races that still walked the earth, experience had taught them that not everything could be taken at face value. Many of them couldn’t forget that betrayal even though that was over three centuries ago. His thoughts were interrupted when his phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket. “Hello?”

The voice on the end had him cock his head to the side as if he needed to hear the voice on the other end better. Being what he was, his hearing was excellent. It was more out of habit especially if it was someone he knew. He looked up at the sun through the dark glasses that he wore when out in the sun.

_The council says that your report was interesting._

Austin looked over at nothing in particular. Of course they would say that. He replied, “You say that every time old friend.”

_Only because you send them in that ridiculous format our students do to us. What is it? Texting? The new form of shorthand?_

Austin couldn’t help but laugh at that. He knew that it was nothing more than a joke. “You and I both know that there are members who know how to translate everything into a language even you could understand. So tell me what are my orders?”

_They want you to stay until a permanent solution is found since the girl is one of those special cases. They don’t want to hear that they didn’t hold up to their end of the bargain._

“You know Angie.”

_I know. Has she said anything? The council hasn’t received anything in months._

Austin gave a slight frown but then again, she never did adhere to protocol as well as they liked. That made him smile a bit since she was the only one who never showed fear and the barest hint of respect for them. He replied, “What makes you think that she was here?”

_Please. She is drawn to the special cases like a moth to a flame._

Austin didn’t have to reply to that. He knew how true that was. Every whisper she had heard of them, she followed them. Every clue to the yellowed eye demon, she pieced together to find him and catch him. Whatever the reason, he didn’t know. Yet he did know that it was an obsession and one that he jokingly told her that would get her into trouble one of these days. She told him that she would take it.

Brushing those thoughts aside, he spoke, “Is there anything else?”

_Just keep an eye out. One of the seers said that the storm was just beginning._

“Gotcha. I’ll send in what I find.” Austin then hung up and put his phone back in his pocket. He picked up a rope and headed towards the coral where the colt he was to break was being kept.

The colt, Child of the Water, was a palomino and said to have be a descendant of the great horse known as Thunder of the Sky. The stories that were told spoke of that great horse being a horse so wild that no man was able to ride it without breaking his neck. There were also stories of a rider that rode Thunder of the Sky across the plains of the frontier bringing light where darkness reigned. They were all interesting stories but Austin was inclined to think that it was something to provide faith.

He approached the colt with a still calm. The palomino gave a slight whinny as he approached but it didn’t run. The colt let Austin put a hand on his neck and stroke him. Austin was familiar with the Navajo legend of the warrior god brothers who protected man from the monsters of the world. Child of the Water was the more tamer of the two and kept the hearth burning for his older brother who was called Monster Slayer. As Austin petted the colt, he couldn’t help but ask, “So where is your brother Monster Slayer? The stories say that you work together to protect this world.” He chuckled while the horse made a rumbling sound.

“Monster Slayer is over in the next coral.”

Austin turned to see the old man watching him handle the colt. He probably had heard the whole conversation but Austin wasn’t going to say anything unless the old man brought it up. That only seemed fair. He replied, “So why not him first since he is older and considered more volatile?”

“He needs to watch the calm of his little brother. The little brother will tame the temper the older brother has. Then the eagle will be free.”

Austin raised his brow and gave a polite nod of respect. This was turning out to be the strangest morning, well day now since it was already past noon. He seriously was going to need to find mundane work and get some sleep. He turned his attention back to the colt. He would do his job and maybe take a peek at the colt’s brother later.

****

Sleep had been a welcome respite after what she had been through. Yet she was having a difficult time staying asleep. Natalia lay in her bed feeling a tad guilty that Nana was running the shop all by herself and looking after the baby. She said that if Jerry cried, she would take care of it but Nana insisted that she get her sleep. Nana had muttered something about needed to be prepared to help the warrior in his quest.

Too tired to argue and even think about what Nana had just said, she did as she was told and went to bed. Now she was lying awake after a couple of hours of sleep and staring at nothing in particular but her thoughts were occupied.

_She had been asleep but not asleep. She dreamed. She saw the town, peaceful and normal but there was a dark shadow that lingered over it. The people were acting normally but the shadow was over them like a cloud. She saw the eagle flying but it was lost in the darkness. It was flying in circles as if it was searching for a way out, but it couldn’t. When it found its way to the edge, something stopped it; like it was tethered or something._

Lying awake, Natalia thought about her dream. She wondered why she was dreaming about the town being in trouble. Angela and her friends took care of the demon that had been influencing the people and yet she was having a dream that showed that the darkness was still there. It also showed that the eagle was in trouble or would get into trouble. She wasn’t sure of which but she knew that she was going to have to find Angela or her friends and warn them.

Unable to go back to sleep, Natalia got up and went to take a shower. She bumped into Nana while she was feeding the baby and Natalia felt guilty. “Nana, you should have let me know he was hungry. I would have taken care of it.”

“Sleep you need child. The evil within the people is gone but the darkness lingers. Need your strength you will for you have seen and know what it takes.” The old woman shifted the baby in her arms to readjust her hold. She didn’t hand the baby over but continued to hold him.

While she had been praying for the young warrior and courage, she heard a whisper on the wind. The spirits were communicating with her. Nana listened as she prayed. The spirits spoke of dark secrets that were being used against one that fought the darkness. They told her that the eagle was strong and courageous but couldn’t stand against the dark secrets.

When Natalia returned with the good boy Austin, Nana didn’t say a word about it then. The tired look of her granddaughter had her put the child’s needs first especially when it was clear that she would be playing a role in this. She would do what she could to help her.

Natalia gave a tolerant smile. She knew that she wasn’t going to change her grandmother’s mind no matter what she said. Well she was equally stubborn and she would do what was her responsibility. She replied, “Alright Nana. I’m going to take a shower now.”

“I will watch the child. He is no trouble.”

Natalia smiled as she played with the dark locks of the baby. She smiled and watched him giggle and coo at her. His movements again reminded her of the miracle that Angela had given. She had also seen that look of tenderness that only showed when she held Jerry.

_Angela looked at Natalia and asked if she could see Jerry and say good bye. Natalia smiled and agreed. Austin gave that grin of his and said that he had to head back to the ranch._

_“Of course. Old Mad Johnson is a strict employer. He’s gone through more hires than anyone here,” Natalia joked. She was a little uncomfortable being in the presence of a real vampire but since Nana said that he was good, she was willing to go along with it. Besides she rather liked him._

_Austin looked at her with a bemused smile and put on a pair of dark shades and walked out of the store. He moved quickly and it was like the blink of an eye when he disappeared out of the line of sight. Natalia was impressed and asked if all vampires could do that and Angela said that it was a gift._

_It certainly explained a lot_ , Natalia thought as she got ready for her shower. She had learned quite a bit and she did feel bad that she had to get into a slug fest with people who were her neighbors and friends. What really pricked at her heart was the fact that Tony and Claire were dead.

_Natalia had to see if there was anyone else that may have been under the demon’s control. She wandered through the building. Austin was at her heels even though he could have kept up beside her easily. She came into a room where there were the remnants of a chair, rope and a fair distance away there was a body crumpled on the ground._

_Tony Ramos was dead. There was no denying it. The gaping hole in his chest was an obvious one and the pool of blood spoke as much. Natalia reached out to touch the body but was stopped by Austin. His grip had been firm but gentle as he shook his head to indicate that she was not to touch it. “He was dead long before this.”_

_Natalia looked at Austin as if he were crazy. It was obvious from the blood everywhere that he had been killed that night. “How can that be when there’s blood everywhere?”_

_Austin looked reluctant to explain but he did, “Look at the body. How rapidly it turned to look like a corpse that had been dead for days instead of hours or even minutes. When demons possess, sometimes they ride their bodies so hard that they kill it and when they are exorcised…”_

_Natalia looked at the body on the ground. So for the last few days she had been talking to someone who pretended to be the nice boy she grew up with. Funny thing was that she had always suspected something was off about him and yet she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Of course Nana knew and that was why the old woman never ceased to mention something about it. Accepting Austin’s response, she asked, “So Tony and Claire are dead. What are we going to do about the bodies?”_

_“You don’t have to do anything. I’ll take care of it.”_

_That was when he sent her packing back to the store. Natalia had to admit that he was quick because it didn’t take him long to do whatever he needed to do and it was a long walk back to the store._

Natalia finished her shower in good time and looked refreshed when she was greeted by a cup of Nana’s special tea blend. She drank the brew wholeheartedly and took time to play with the baby and make sure that he ate. It seemed like things were going to go back to normal even though after the events of last night told her that they were going to be different. Natalia thought about something that she had been toying with while she was in the shower. She wondered if Nana would be open to it. When the old woman was settled, she ventured, “Nana, I have been wondering about something.”

The old woman looked at her granddaughter. She knew that Natalia was a practical person in general and when she had an idea, she latched onto it and mulled over the feasibility of it. She replied, “Speak child.”

“I know that you have taught me many things about our people and I have tried to learn more on my own as well.”

“A good mind you have. You can succeed in the world and still remember the old ways.”

Natalia gave a slight smile. Sometimes Nana gave her way too much credit on some things. It was true that she kept up with the old ways but Natalia privately though that she was much more rooted in the modern world. Then again she could not see beyond the surface as well as Nana could. She replied, “You give me too much credit as usual Nana.”

“It is not too much to tell the truth.”

“Alright, alright but what I wanted to ask you was… well if you could teach me more about the old ways.”

Nana studied Natalia thoughtfully. She had been able to keep her in the dark about certain things for a long time. Now that she knew that there were things that existed as the old tales said, she knew that there was no hiding it from the girl. Besides she had been marked by a dark one and she had been found. Natalia needed to learn the other things, the same things that had been used to protect her and the baby. She replied, “Much you need to know but learn them you will.”

Natalia recognized the clipped talk of her grandmother as a sign that she was being serious. That meant that when she taught her what she needed to know, she was to watch, listen and learn. To ask questions would defeat the purpose in some cases, depending upon what she was to learn. Natalia nodded and asked, “Start today?”

“Yes but things you must get.”

It was about forty five minutes later that she found herself in the only store in town that sold just about everything from food to dry goods and a bunch of other things. Nana always shopped there for the herbs that she couldn’t grow or gather herself because they couldn’t grow there. Natalia loved the smell of herbs and wild plants since she had grown up with them. She hadn’t known the actual purpose of them but she loved the rich blend of smells all the same.

With a list in one hand and a basket in the other, she walked down the aisles picking through the herbs that Nana asked for. She paid particularly close attention to the state of the herbs since that often could affect the potency of whatever was to be made. In this case, Nana wanted to teach her a basic element, smudging. When Natalia asked why, Nana responded that cleansing an area of darkness was just as important as defeating it. Natalia accepted that and took the list and went out, leaving the baby with Nana.

When she walked down to the store, she spotted a sleek black car. It was a classic muscle car and this much she knew because some of the boys on the west end of town owned muscle cars and drove them, much to the annoyance of the town, at all hours of the night. This car though was a beauty, like it was well cared for with everything kept as if it had just rolled off the assembly line. Deciding that it wouldn’t hurt to take a peek, she looked it over.

The outside was nice, like someone made the effort to keep it looking like new. The interior could’ve used a little work and that was in terms of the empty bags that littered the floor. That told Natalia that the owner probably spent much of his time on the road and food meant cheap diner food or fast food. She could just imagine the greasy cheeseburgers and French fries. She placed her hand on the roof to look at it and something flashed before her eyes.

_The warrior brothers were sitting side by side in the car and they were driving off to some destination. The only that stretched before them was a two lane highway. The brothers were laughing and joking with each other. The younger one would occasional look towards the back at her. Natalia though knew that he wasn’t looking at her. So she looked around the backseat._

_Sitting next to her was the eagle. The eagle was looking pretty comfortable as it playfully pecked at the younger brother’s hair and occasionally the older brother as well. This continued as the car traveled down the highway._

Natalia removed her hand from the car and stood back a ways. That had been a random vision and it was disconcerting but not surprising. Now that she knew who the eagle was, she could guess that the black beauty there was the means of transportation. The warrior brothers she had yet to figure out completely and that was what she had been mulling over when she picked through the herbs.

Finished with that, she decided to stroll through the aisles and check and see if anything came to mind that they needed. She wandered through the aisles and picked up odds and ends, careful to avoid damaging the herbs in the basket. For some unknown reason, she went to the toy aisle and started looking. It wouldn’t hurt to buy something for Jerry for once since most of his toys were handmade. She started looking down the aisles until her eye alighted on a familiar sight.

Natalia didn’t know if it was coincidence or some joke being played on her but the toy car in front of her captured her interest. It was a perfect replica of the black beauty she had seen earlier and picking it up to inspect the box, she read the label, “1967 Chevy Impala.”

“That’s a good year and a good model.”

Natalia turned to find the guy that she had met in the minimart the evening before. He was certainly looking in a better mood and he didn’t have that distracted air that she had sensed from before. She smiled, “I take it that you’re an expert.”

Dean Winchester could hardly believe his luck when he saw the pretty girl that he met the night before. She looked even hotter in the day time and she didn’t seem all that distracted as she did before. He saw her walking down the aisles and toyed with the idea of chatting her up. Since Samantha would need his beauty sleep, Dean figured that they would stay in town for a day. So it seemed like a perfect opportunity to do something extra. He tracked her down even though he was laden down with bare essentials and things for Sam’s health fetish and found her looking at toys and one in particular that looked like his baby. He started talking to her and replied, “Hell yeah. I have one just like it.”

Natalia knew that he was hitting on her. It was no surprise since there were guys who still found her attractive but the moment she mentioned she had a kid, they went running. This guy appeared to be different so she decided to have a little fun, “You play with toys?”

Dean still smiled and replied, “Heck no. I own a classic baby like that. She’s the best there ever was. Nothing beats a 427.”

Natalia had no idea what he was talking about in terms of car engines so she played it safe. “I see. Well I hardly expect this thing to compete with that.”

“Yeah well I think it’s the best thing for a kid to have. It is for a kid right?” Dean gave one of his more endearing smiles. He noticed that her basket was full of strange plants and his senses went on alert. The obvious part said witch but given that she ethnically couldn’t constitute a witch, he was a little more relaxed.

Natalia was aware that she was being studied and she figured that he must be one of the warriors that rode with the eagle in her vision. She was not hasty though and treaded carefully. She replied, “For my son. He’s a little too young but it’s a good size for him to play with. No small parts he could choke on.”

Dean continued to smile and replied, “I say get it then. It’s never too early to start appreciating a classic.” When she decided and placed the toy in her basket, he accompanied her down the aisles chatting with her. At one point he turned his phone off since it seemed to be an odd quirk of Sam’s to call when he was right in the middle of flirting with a hot chick. “So what’s with all the smelly stuff? Plan on giving your neighbors a stink bomb?”

Natalia smiled, “No. My grandmother is a shamaness and she has been teaching me the old ways. They’re for a cleansing ritual.”

“Nice,” Dean allowed. It was an unspoken rule that you never discussed the job with a civilian though Dean did break that rule with Cassie. Besides, he didn’t know too much about Native American rituals concerning the supernatural. _Looks like I’ll have to get Sam to bone me up on it._ He continued to chat with the girl and found out that her name was Natalia. They continued to chat while they were standing in line.

Natalia found out a few things about Dean and one of them was that he was an incorrigible flirt. He had an endearing grin and she could see why women would be under his spell. The last thing that she noticed was that he had a secret and she guessed that it was one of those that shouldn’t be told. Still she talked to him hoping to learn a little more.


	3. Chapter 3

Angela had seen many things in her long life but to see the sight she was seeing, it was like seeing a ghost, as the cliché went. Thing was she had seen plenty of spirits and this didn’t really look like a spirit nor was it like the spirit energy she had sensed when she followed the boys to Lawrence and to the old house. She had met up with John then with Missouri who told her in private that she was going to run into serious trouble if she did not slow down her pace.

 _Well looks like I earned another head slap from Missouri_ , Angela thought to herself as she continued to watch the figure in front of her. Her heart panged with sorrow and guilt. She often wondered if Mary ever hated her for not being there when she was needed the most. She had tried though especially when the Winchesters were little. She glanced past the window and saw that it was now pitch black outside.

The figure of her old friend was glaring at her with hatred. It was nothing like the Mary she remembered. In fact the whole situation was grossly perverse in her mind. Angela looked up and asked, “Mary? How is it possible?”

Mary Campbell Winchester looked down at the one that she once called friend. She gave a malicious smile and replied, “There are many things possible.”

“But I saw you die. I was there when the house burned.”

“Too little, too late,” Mary replied in a voice that was tinged with darkness. She paced back and forth in front of Angela still looking at her with intense hatred. “You were supposed to be my friend. You were supposed to protect me and my family. In the end, you betrayed me.”

The words tore at Angela’s heart. She knew that those words were not true. Deep down she knew that Mary trusted her life to her especially after all the hunts they had gone on before. Yet to hear them was like having a knife being plunged in her chest and her heart was being cut out slowly and painfully. Angela felt her lungs constrict painfully at the accusation while she mustered the words to reply, “I did protect you. I did whatever was in my power…”

The blow was a powerful one and it stunned Angela for a moment. She knew that ghosts could give a nasty punch but this felt… different. It silenced her effectively while Mary said, “Liar. You were a coward, staying away and hiding in the shadows like a little bitch.”

Angela gritted her teeth as the air came in and out rapidly as if she were angry. She looked up at Mary and replied, “I won’t make excuses for doing my job.”

Angela was struck again across the face. She could feel the sting of the cuffs as her wrists burned from the contact and the rubbing. Her face burned from the blow and she was certain that she was going to end up with a black eye. Maybe two. Not that it mattered… unless Mary decided to get cute and use something that would definitely cause her pain and possibly death. She looked at Mary with that nondescript serious look she wore when she didn’t want to show emotions. “Is that how it’s going to be? You punching me for every cheek that I give you.” She then gave a scoff. “You’re not Mary. The real Mary would have done something else.”

Mary smiled a slow and calculating smile as she studied the captive Shadow Chaser. She replied, “You’re right. The real Mary would do something different. What it is would be right up in there.” Mary tapped Angela’s forehead with her index finger. “Right there in your grapefruit. I don’t suppose you wish to tell me so I could do this properly.”

Angela gave a humorless smile, “No.”

Mary shrugged her shoulders as she glanced behind Angela. She then looked down at the Shadow Chaser who was once again trying to free herself. It was amusing to watch the pain being self-inflicted if only to try for that one chance at freedom. As if the half breeds deserved as such. She tsked and replied, “Such a pity. It would make this image all the more authentic now would it?”

“Unlikely. Tell me something: what are you?” Angela looked up at Mary and gave a sarcastic look to her inquiry. It was her usual method for stalling time. She was willing to put up with the pain to pull the arms free of the chair. “You are obviously not a shape shifter otherwise I would be staring at myself.”

“That would be an interesting thing to see. If I was a shifter but as you pointed out so aptly, I am not.” Mary went back to her pacing as she looked at Angela. It looked like she may have hit her harder than she had thought for there was a rather nasty cut at the temple where she hit the girl and it looked worse by the swelling. “Oh that looks nasty.”

“I’ve had worse.” Angela wasn’t going to give this Mary the satisfaction of revealing the truth. This wasn’t Mary and she would be damned if she told this thing so much as a baby story about Dean. She could hold out while she figured a way out of this.

Mary then gave a laugh. “Of course you have. I remember the hunt that we went on not too far from home. Dad didn’t want you to come but I insisted. That was when I used to think of you as a friend. You took a blow that was meant for me. Left you with a nice shiner.”

Angela held her tongue. She remembered that hunt. That was the last hunt she went on with the Campbell family. After that Old Man Campbell made it clear that he didn’t want her around his daughter ever again. It was after it was found out that she knew that Mary had been dating the handsome tool from the town garage that she had met. After that, she and Mary met in secret to exchange news about any possible hunts. She looked up at this fake Mary and narrowed her eyes slightly. “You know, the Mary I knew had a slightly smaller nose. Yeah it was maybe about two percent smaller and it wasn’t so pinched like she sucked on a lemon.”

“Your brand of humor I remember well. Always making a joke when things get tough just make the job seems less bad than what it really is.”

Angela smirked as she gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. She had gotten good at avoiding rubbing her wrists on the cuffs too much. They still stung and the welts were like a lobster red but that thing would heal with time once she got the damn things off. Right now she had to figure out a way to actually do that. She replied, “What can I say? I’m gifted.”

“Gifted at getting your friends killed.”

“If you mean by the foolish ones who jumped in after disregarding my advice then I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Mary gave a laugh. To Angela it sounded like the throaty, manipulative laugh that Lenya used when she thought something was extremely funny to her twisted sense of humor. It made Angela wonder if her ears were playing tricks on her. She wouldn’t have been that surprised given that she had been hit several times upside the head by someone with possibly the strength of a demon. Heck there were times that she did think her mind was playing tricks on her and that was usually when she was running on fumes in terms of getting enough sleep and the like.

Mary looked at Angela and then gripped her chin with her hand and looked at her in the eyes. She replied, “You do know and I know that you know it was your fault. You live with it every day.” She then released Angela’s chin. “You would sacrifice your team if it meant achieving your goal and you justify it with that bullshit concept of the greater good.”

Angela said nothing but gave a glare at Mary. “The greater good my ass.” She gave a slight struggle against her bonds, this time not caring if she was burning her wrists worse than what they were. “Now shut up bitch and go find some other hapless soul to play with that actually will believe what you look like.”

Mary laughed at Angela. She glanced again towards the back of the room and was surprised that the Shadow Chaser had not picked up on that movement. Then again she did have a couple of nasty cracks to the head. Perhaps she had been a little too hard. Then again the fun was just beginning. The real nightmare would begin soon. She replied, “I would naturally since you seem to be well adjusted to my presence. However your initial reaction was well… priceless.”

“The mind does play tricks on people. Often times we are our own worst enemy.” Angela looked up and followed the pacing movements that Mary was making. “I used to play mind games too. It was a mode of survival.”

Mary paused and gave a grin. The first secret was out. It was going to be easy to take the words and secrets and twist them into an abomination of the original words. Such was the way of games like this. She glanced once more behind Angela and gave a flicker of her eyes. She replied, “Ah yes it is all about survival and you would know something about that now wouldn’t you. After all you are what? Five hundred years old. Maybe more and possibly from a place where fires burn hotter?”

Angela made a slight motion. If anything, she had never made mention of those times to Mary. True she may have let it slip about doing things that she regretted but never specifically about that. This just reaffirmed that this doppelganger of Mary Winchester was what it was: a doppelganger. It wasn’t a spirit because she wasn’t getting that vibe she usually got with spirits and poltergeists. Some of the other creatures that came to mind didn’t ring any bells either because there was something wrong with every one of those suggestions. She was not going to play this game with whatever this thing was. She replied, “I look good for my age I know. A couple of guys have tried that line on me.”

“And each time you scare them away.”

“Incorrigible flirts and nothing more,” Angela replied as a dismissal of the whole thing. She focused on what she wanted to get through and that she wasn’t going to play this game. “If it is your goal to get me to break down and spill the beans on my current doings then you’re going to be sorely disappointed.”

Mary then leaned in close to get close to Angela’s face. She was so close that there was the tiniest distance between the tips of their noses. Angela could smell flesh and bone but something was off about that. She wrinkled her nose and then said, “You smell funny.”

Mary gave a slight hum that could have been a chuckle. She replied, “You are defiant and that usually means you are hiding something. Things that you don’t want those closest to you to know and you dread it when they stumble too close. I don’t need to torture you physically to get it out. Eventually you will tell everything.”

Angela moved her head back slightly as if to say the stench was overbearing. She replied, “That would be a cold day in hell.”

“Hell will be the least of your worries.”

Before Angela could say anything, something grabbed her by the hair and turned her head to the side. She felt the prick of a needle and the liquid feel of something being injected. Whoever it was roughly released her head after pulling out the needle. They flung her head down giving a crick in the neck.

Angela gave a shake of her head trying to discern what had happened. Looking in front of her, Mary was gone. There was no one else in the room. Resuming her previous efforts at escaping, she started pulling up on the arms of the chair. At this point she didn’t care if her wrists were rubbed raw. She was in the middle of almost getting one arm undone when she started feeling woozy. Her vision started to blur and her mind became sluggish. Her eyes began heavy and they closed pulling in that familiar sense of darkness.

****

_9 Hours Earlier_

The beeping started again. It was like one of those annoying birds that wouldn’t stop chirping. The beeping started again and this time it couldn’t be ignored. Sam groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. He found that he was on the floor of the motel between the two beds. The way he was positioned, he could make out the spare shotgun that was typically stashed under Dean’s bed. He couldn’t believe he forgot that one. Moving his eyes slowly, they focused on a particularly nasty looking spot on the carpet. Sam didn’t even want to know what caused that stain.

The beeping started again and Sam groaned. His head was giving off a dull throb and knew that he needed aspirin. He looked for the source of the beeping and realized that it was his cell phone. Lying still on the floor, he brought the beeping annoyance up to his ear and replied, “It’s Sam.”

_It’s about time ya idjit._

“Bobby?”

_Yeah it’s me. I’ve been calling on and off for the past two hours. Your idjit brother needs to turn the damn thing on._

Sam slowly sat up and leaned against one of the beds. He frowned as he rubbed his head to try to ease the dull throb that was still pounding in his skull. “You’ve been calling for two hours?” He asked the question realizing how stupid it sounded but at that moment his thoughts felt barely coherent.

_Ya called me and then you stopped talking. I’ve been worried outta my mind. I’m halfway there now._

Sam had managed to get to his feet and find the bottle of aspirin. Grabbing one of the glasses that came with the room, he filled it with water and popped two aspirin. “I’m sorry to worry you Bobby.”

_Your idjit brother should be apologizing._

Sam had been pinching the bridge of his nose while listening to Bobby. The grizzled hunter mentioned that he had been trying to reach one of them for at least two hours. Had he really been out that long? And where was Dean? Sam frowned a bit and then a thought occurred to him. “Did you try calling Angie?”

_First thing after Dean. Same thing. Got the damn voicemail and I tried more than ten times. Someone her age should have better manners._

Sam frowned some more. Angela was not one to ignore Bobby like that over the phone. Sam knew better than anyone that those two were like grumpy old… people when they talked to each other. It made him actually laugh because Bobby treated her like he would have treated a girl in his day. Even more funny was that he called her young lady half the time and the irony was that she older than what she looked. To hear that she had not even picked up the phone brought a wave of concern and it didn’t help the dull throb in his head even though the aspirin started kicking in. Grabbing his room key, he left and went down the hall towards Angela’s room. “That doesn’t sound like Angie. She would have picked up unless you pissed her off.”

_More likely you and your brother will piss her off._

“That wouldn’t be a good thing considering this town,” Sam replied as he made it to her door. He knocked on the door and waited to see if she would respond.

_Yeah well the way I hear it, you managed to square things nicely._

Sam frowned as he pounded again on the door. “Really? I guess news travels fast.” It suddenly occurred to him to try the door. He jiggled the handle and became worried that it opened so easily. Sam let the door swing open and he surveyed the room. The salt lines across the door were intact and he carefully stepped up the threshold and into the room. Knowing what to look for, he checked the places that Angela would have put warding glyphs and salt lines. Everything was intact except for an over turned table. All of her stuff was still in the room. “Bobby, is there any type of creature that can get past salt lines and warding glyphs?”

_None that I know of. Why?_

Sam took one final look around. While doing so he thought about the vision he had before he collapsed. Maybe they hadn’t stopped whatever was plaguing this town. Perhaps that was a lure to catch a bigger fish so to speak. He replied, “Because Angie is gone.”

****

Bobby Singer fingered the phone for what seemed like an eternity. For the last two hours while he was on the road, he had been alternating between Dean, Sam and Angela, calling their phones. He had been pulling a beer out while researching something for another hunter when the phone rang. Checking the caller ID, he picked up right away as he always did for those two boys.

When he had first met John Winchester, the boys were at that age where they should have been doing things like team sports and the like. Even though he had some misgivings at first, he had grown attached to them and when John died he sort of adopted them as his own sons. So when he picked up the phone and heard Sam groaning in pain, he grew concerned and wondered where Dean was. He brushed that aside and began asking questions to determine how bad Sam was.

When Sam failed to answer, Bobby had enough. He grabbed the bag that he always kept ready just in case he needed to take care of a hunt and headed out towards Hudson, Wyoming. Sam was in trouble and after trying Dean’s cell phone a certain number of times, Bobby decided that enough was enough and made up his mind to give Dean a good head smack. He tried Angela’s phone and was met with the same thing. However that was more disturbing than Dean not being there for his brother.

Bobby had only known Angela for a short time but she had earned a place in his heart within that span. After running the usual tests for new people that he met he made the effort to get to know her. He hadn’t told her at the time and neither the boys that John had mentioned her and had described her down to the last detail. Bobby never heard the end of the stories of what John called Mary’s angel. To see her in person, he half expected someone to be like those stupid little statues of angels.

Instead, he got a girl who looked good for her age and spent most of her time ribbing the boys with her jokes. Of course he treated her like a girl should be treated and called her young lady. She would retaliate with well phrased jokes back earning laughter. Bobby saw in her as someone who had a troubled past but never let it drag her down as she made life easier for those around her. So he found it odd that she would ignore his calls.

When Bobby finally got a hold of Sam, he gave him a mild tongue lashing for making him worry. Even though Sam would have eventually told Bobby to not bother coming, the grizzled hunter was going to have none of it and made it known.

The fact that Sam was more coherent than he had been when he was having the vision was some measure of relief. However it encouraged Bobby to be reckless like Dean and push it with the speed limits. Something wasn’t right and he wanted to be there for the boys in case they needed help and give them the head slaps they deserved.

“Yeah well the way I hear it, you managed to square things nicely,” he said to Sam. He could hear noise in the background and concluded that Sam was in the middle of doing something. He heard something pound in the background in a rhythmic fashion. Sam responded in a joking fashion but Bobby could pick up that Sam must be in the middle of something, like he was searching for something. The next words had him suspect something was up because of the way Sam asked.

_Bobby, is there any type of creature that can get past salt lines and warding glyphs?_

Bobby had never heard of warding glyphs before and wondered what the hell Sam was talking about but that was beside the point. Sam was getting at something and needed answers for whatever he was seeing. He could hear shuffling noises in the background. It was like Sam was looking for something. He replied, “None that I know of. Why?”

He really had no idea of any creature that wasn’t repelled by salt, iron or silver. The exception was Angela and her kind. After she explained to him about that little tidbit, he made the theory that it was her human half that protected her and he understood why her kind was used by both sides. He wondered what Sam was getting at. He had his answer when he heard Sam’s voice.

_Because Angie is gone._

Bobby increased the speed of his driving. He could tell by the tone of Sam’s voice that this wasn’t something to be taken lightly. However Sam did have a tendency to get overly worried about things. He replied, “Sam, she probably just stepped out.”

_Bobby, she wouldn’t leave the door unlocked and the table was overturned. I think someone broke in before she got back._

“And that same someone broke in probably looking for something of value. It don’t mean that someone took her.”

_Bobby the only thing of value is her stash of weapons and they are still here. Besides you said that you couldn’t reach her over the phone._

Bobby stared straight ahead at the road in front of him. “Balls.”

_Bobby?_

Bobby snapped back into focus. He replied, “Sam I don’t know what to tell ya. The only way anyone or anything could get through salt lines would be if they were human. I still think though that she may have gone off somewhere though.”

_Bobby you don’t believe that do you? She wouldn’t just up and leave like that. At least not without saying something._

Bobby listened to the worried tones that Sam’s voice took over the phone. True they were not like the tones he had if it were Dean hurt but they were different. While they had been at the house, he noticed how Sam behaved around her and watched closely. As it turned out Sam wasn’t even largely aware about his behavior and insisted that it was nothing more than a friendship on his end. Bobby didn’t push except to ask how they met. Listening to Sam, it was obvious that he had a better relationship with her and in a short amount of time.

_Bobby, what are we going to do?_

“Hold on, Sam. I’ll be there and we can figure this out. In the meantime track down that idjit brother of yours.”

_Okay Bobby._

Bobby listened as the telltale click of the phone hanging up came on. He put his phone aside and concentrated on the road. He knew that Sam was probably not going to follow his advice and would probably start out on a search for Angela. What bothered Bobby was the fact that Dean was nowhere to be found. Since Sam had a painful vision and Dean hadn’t been there, chances were that the boy was going to go on a mega guilt trip as he always did when Sam got hurt and he hadn’t been around to prevent it.

Just thinking about that had Bobby manage to get more power out of the beat up ride that he was driving. He knew he had a bad feeling the moment he found out that someone had impersonated him and lured the boys there. Now he had the feeling that whatever it was hadn’t finished its job. Somehow Angela was connected to it.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam hung up the phone and put it in his pocket. He sat on Angela’s bed and cradled his head in his hands, rubbing his head to ward off the remnants of the dull throb of his vision. He looked around the room once again as if hoping to see if there was something he missed; like Angela just decided to step out. Yet the overturned table had him wondering.

Even though Angela had not been traveling with him and Dean for long, he did pick up on some of her habits. They were meticulous and always bore the characteristics of being cautious and alert. She never neglected to lay down salt lines or even draw those warding sigils. Sam concluded that they were not dealing with a supernatural creature. More likely the culprit was human and he wondered who would have a beef with her. To figure that out he would need to do what he did best, according to Dean.

Deciding to semi follow Bobby’s advice, Sam trudged back to his and Dean’s room after pausing to find Angela’s room key on the floor. Picking it up, he inspected it and deep down he knew that she had been taken no matter what anyone else said. He made sure the door was locked and pocketed her key and went to his room. There he found Dean with a bag of foodstuffs and looking pleased with himself. It took effort to not outwardly shout at his brother and demand where he had been. So Sam adopted the quiet approach, “Hey Dean, took you that long to grab food?”

Dean had to admit that he had taken longer than necessary to get food but hey who was watching time when you were talking to a hot chick? Plus he had some other things to take care of that crossed his mind while he was out. He replied, “It does when you meet a hot chick in the process.”

It then clicked for Sam. Dean turned his phone off in order to prevent any interruptions. It wasn’t something he did all the time but only when he thought he met a girl that was in a special class of hotness. Sam resisted the eye roll because Dean claimed that Sam had a knack for calling right when he was in the middle of chatting up the girl. He replied, “She must’ve been something if you had to turn off your phone for two hours.”

“Sam you should have seen her. Hair pitch black, rich skin and a set of brown eyes that make your puppy dog face look weak.”

Sam gave a shrug that clearly said ‘whatever.’ He went over to his side of the room to try and tidy up his things. The bottle of aspirin was in plain sight and he moved to try and move it. He prayed that Dean didn’t see that.

He wasn’t to get his wish. Dean had quick reflexes and snatched up the bottle of aspirin and was examining it. He looked at Sam with a suspicious look and asked, “Had a fever or something Sam?”

Sam reverted to his usual defense. The denial and the brush off. “I’m fine, Dean.”

“Sam.”

It was the ‘I’m the big brother and you better answer me’ tone and Sam knew that he was going to get it if he didn’t fess up right now. He was still going to try and deflect as per his habit. Plus he was itching to go out and start looking for clues. “It’s nothing Dean. Just a little headache.”

“Headache my ass,” Dean replied, “You had a vision didn’t you?”

Sam said nothing but fiddled with Angela’s room key in his pocket. What else could he say? He sat on his bed suddenly feeling tired about the whole thing.

“Sam?”

“I’m fine now.”

Dean sat on his bed across from Sam. A nasty feeling began to grow in the pit of his stomach. He asked, “Did it happen while I was out?”

Sam looked up and saw the look on his older brother’s face. This was exactly what Bobby had warned him about and deep down Sam knew that it would happen. He was going to have to do some talking to diffuse the situation enough so that Dean wouldn’t harbor any guilty feelings. He replied, “It’s okay Dean. I got the aspirin and everything is fine.” He left out the fact that he had called Bobby and had passed out on purpose. No need to add fuel to the fire.

“Are you sure because I checked and I have about a dozen missed calls from Bobby.”

“Just checking to see how we did on the case,” Sam replied. It was partially the truth for about all two seconds of the conversation he had with Bobby.

“Okay,” Dean allowed. He got the feeling that Sam was hiding something from him. It didn’t take a genius to figure that one out and he knew that kid better than anyone. “So what did you see? A new psychic?”

“What?”

“Come on, Sam. Whenever you have a vision it usually involves one of the psychics,” Dean replied a little forcefully. Sometimes he had to be rough with Sam if only to get him to talk and because Sam could graduate from being a pain in the ass to a stubborn ass.

Sam knew that Dean was not going to let this go so easily. Still something was telling him in his gut that he be circumspect with what he saw. He didn’t know why but he sensed that it was necessary. He just hoped that it wouldn’t bite him or Angela in the ass. He recalled his dreams before they took this job. He could use that while he figured out what to do next. He replied, “Yeah it was. Dean I don’t think we finished the job here.”

“What do you mean? You ganked the sonofabitch that was messing with me and this town,” Dean replied as he walked over to pull out one of the premade sandwiches he bought. He tore the wrapping and started chomping away. He reached in and pulled out a second one and tossed it to Sam. “So you know who it is?”

Sam caught the sandwich and made a slight face. He had become spoiled in terms of food. She had made the best sandwiches and now his tolerance level was shot and he was pretty sure that Dean’s was as well even though Dean could eat just about anything. He tentatively took a bite while trying to ignore the flying bits of food coming out of his brother’s mouth. He replied after swallowing, “Not sure but it was a girl. Black hair and twin braids. I couldn’t see too much. It was dark.”

Dean chomped on his sandwich as he thought about it. He relished the taste of the ham even though the sandwich was crap. He studied his younger brother and came to the conclusion that either Sam knew something and wasn’t telling or that he knew something but needed time to thing about it to be sure. He decided it was the latter and decided go with the flow though eventually he would get the truth out one way or another. “Okay. You talk to Angie about it?”

“She’s not here. She must be out getting your pie,” Sam replied and prayed that he sounded convincing enough.

Dean took another bite of his sandwich. He thought it a little odd that Angela wasn’t around. As far as he knew, she wouldn’t let something that serious slip under her radar. Then again there was a first time for everything. He replied with a shrug of his shoulders, “At least she’s getting pie unlike some people who just plain forget.”

Sam gave an annoyed frown. This was unusual for Dean. As far as he could tell, Dean seemed grateful that someone else shared the burden of worrying over stuff and that usually fell to Angela. The fact that he was not showing as much concern about her being gone for a while was something to think about. Sam did concede that the relationship between his brother and Angela was hardly one that was considered a normal good. They ribbed each other constantly and Dean seemed to enjoy it but if did her own thing, he wasn’t going to be like a concerned dad waiting up all hours while his daughter was on a date. He replied, “Whatever Dean. So I take it that you got her number?”

If Dean noticed the switch in topics, he didn’t show it. It didn’t matter since he was dying to tell Sam about the hot chick he had met. He replied with a mouth full of food, “No but I could tell she was into me.”

Sam gave a slight roll of his eyes. “Sure, Dean.”

“Thing is, she has a kid too. Now I’m a fan of kids but hell she has good taste when it comes to toys for the kid.” Dean finished off his sandwich with relish while Sam took smaller bites and observed his brother. “She found a perfect model of my baby.”

Sam gave a knowing grunt. He knew what that meant. That was part of the reason why he agreed to having Angela come along. It was major points in Dean’s book if you had a healthy to near obsessive respect of classic cars like the Impala.

“Hey at least she has good taste in cars.”

“Dude, I didn’t say anything,” Sam replied.

“Ya didn’t have to. I practically see it on your face. Really you are a hopeless case.”

“At least I don’t drool over a car in the hopes of getting a car orgasm.”

“Bite me, bitch. At least the girl was hot. The twin black braids…”

Sam shook his head. “Whatever.” Hearing Dean’s description of the girl, he came to certain conclusions and he was fairly certain who it was. He then had an idea and decided to go through with it. At least Dean could sleep off whatever he was feeling and maybe he would find her before things got messy. Standing up. He threw his trash in the wastebasket and said, “I’m going to take a walk. If I think of anything I missed…” He left the sentence hanging.

Dean finished his sandwich and pulled out another, a turkey one this time. He mumbled, “Fine. Take your emo walk, Samantha.”

“Sam.”

“Bitch.”

“Jerk.” Sam left closing the door quietly. He decided the best thing to do was backtrack from the moment they separated on their way back to the motel. He fingered her room key in his pocket before taking off. He was tired and passing out could hardly be called sleep but there was a reason he had that vision and why it hurt worse than the others.

Once out of the motel, he started up the street towards the store he met the Natalia girl. His head was still throbbing from earlier and it felt unusual. He squinted in response to the glare from the sun and made his way through the streets. He stopped at the closest minimart and asked the cashier.

“Yeah a girl came by. Hottest thing on two legs. Amazing she could pay attention to what is going on while talking on the phone. Ya know she told me that I counted her change wrong? And she wasn’t even looking!”

Sam listened to the kid. It wasn’t the first time that he heard such ‘compliments’ in regards to Angela. In Dean’s classification of women, she would be considered the kind that every guy wanted to bang. She wasn’t busty like Dean’s porn girls or a blonde but Sam did have to admit that she had an attractive quality in her athletic body. Women would probably kill for her body type and if they knew the truth about her eating habits, they would have tried to gank her.

He gladly interrupted the kid’s drooling fantasy, “So did she say anything? Did you happen to see where she went?”

“Well, she did mention something to whoever she was talking to on the phone. Something about a guy named Dean. That you?”

“My brother,” Sam replied. There was no need to go into more detail about that. “So which way did she take?”

“Left the store and turned left.”

“Thanks,” Sam replied and left the store. Standing outside, he thought about it and determined that she came straight back to the motel after leaving the minimart. He didn’t want to ask the kid if he saw anyone following her since it was obvious that the kid was thinking with the downstairs brain. Best thing he could do was head back to the shop and maybe find out where that Austin guy was.

It was a good plan and Sam was making good time. He rounded a corner that brought him to the backside of the store and started to walk towards the front when the telltale signs started creeping up. He placed a hand to his forehead. “Not again.”

It wasn’t a good plea since the throb became worse, forcing Sam to squint and shut his eyes. He didn’t even bother pull out his phone to dial Dean. He just leaned against the wall of the building to brace himself as he saw the same thing as before but instead of his mother taking a swing, it was someone else. What the hell? Sam didn’t have much time to ponder. For the second time that day, he passed out.

****

Austin had never touched nor ridden an animal as magnificent as Child of the Water. The animal could be considered perfect and he could believe that was why the old man named the colt as such. It surprised him that the colt was so responsive to him while still maintaining that streak of independence that he liked. His older sibling was similar but more outward and prone to react to anything. It didn’t matter though since he liked both of them.

The old man wanted Child of the Water broken first so he would spend the next few days working with the animal but as it turned out, the horse was being more than cooperative. However twice though, it seemed to get a little agitated as if a burr were under its saddle. It had taken all of Austin’s patience to calm the animal and start again. Patience he had a huge supply of since he had to deal with her a few times and in front of the Centurion, it was enough to try the patience of a saint.

Austin managed to convince the horse to let him put the saddle on and lead him around. The horse had followed him willingly and was sly enough to nuzzle his jacket pocket for the oats that he had hidden in there just in case he needed a bribe. At one point, he caught the old man watching him with interest and he resolutely ignored it. After all it could be that he was just checking up on him to make sure that he didn’t ruin his prize colt. He wouldn’t blame him since he himself had seen a few prize colts spoiled by improper breaking in.

“Knows that you are different but willing to give the benefit of the doubt,” the old man said as he watched his hire lead the colt around.

Austin paused in his leading and stroked the horse’s neck. It gave a slight rumble at the feeling and he smiled. He replied, “And I suppose that will help his sibling when his turn comes up.”

“Yes, but they need someone who can understand the relationship.”

A few choice phrases entered Austin’s mind. After all he wasn’t a complete prude or a celibate and his sense of humor could be mind boggling. He went with the less risqué choice and replied, “So they need a therapist then? Interesting.”

The old man chuckled at Austin’s choice of words. The boy was good at what he did but he didn’t grasp that it was someone else he was referring to. He allowed that it was because the boy was an outsider and he wouldn’t completely understand in the first place unless he stopped to really think about it. He replied, “Someone who has had similar experiences. It reflects in their handling.”

Austin thought about it for a moment. Child of the Water was the quieter of the two siblings and when provoked, could be a fighter. He had dealt with all types before and on some level could relate… He then shook it off. At the moment he couldn’t grasp what the old man was getting at. He needed to finish the day off. He answered, “I see.”

The old man knew that Austin was thinking things through when Child of the Water tossed its head and became slightly agitated. He said, “The younger one senses something/”

 _Really you think?_ Austin couldn’t help but think that as he tried to settle the animal for the third time. He reached up towards the neck and tried stoking it while holding the horse with the other arm. “Easy boy. Tell me what the problem is,” he whispered in the horse’s ear.

The animal responded by angling its body in the direction of town. It kicked its feet up and stomped on the ground. The old man understood instantly. The horse knew that someone needed help. It truly was a descendant of Thunder of the Sky. He said, “Go with him. He will guide you.”

Austin looked at the old man as if he were crazy. The colt wasn’t properly broken and was too young to be put upon for that kind of work. He didn’t want to spoil a fine animal. He replied, “But he is not ready. To take a colt out like that before completely trained can ruin it especially one like this one.” He continued to pet the animal and it calmed down some but not enough.

“Only he knows when he is ready. Go now.” The old man then turned and trudged to the house leaving Austin with the horse that was itching to go.

Austin realized that he was given an order and since he technically was still a hired hand, he knew that he had to do what he was told. With a reluctant sigh, he moved and swung himself up on the saddle. “Okay boy take it easy.”

The colt though started off and would have broken into a canter if Austin hadn’t held him in check. He didn’t want the animal to injure itself needlessly and he wasn’t in the mood to put down an animal because of stupidity. He had done it before and it still bothered him to a degree. He kept the horse at a steady pace that was not too slow but slow enough to avoid any serious consequences.

The colt though had other ideas. Once its feet touched the road, it started to pick up the pace until it was galloping despite the protests the rider was giving him. It sensed it on the wind and it needed to move. It started moving faster while Austin tried to keep it at an easy pace.

The colt though had enough. He liked the trainer but he was too cautious right now. Besides he knew what he was doing and his brother told him that he needed to go. Even though he was reluctant, he was going to have to get rid of the rider and take off on his own speed. His chance came when he rounded the corner on the road.

There was a dip and he needed to make a jump. At the right moment, the colt took the chance. With an extra spring, he leapt over and in the process managed a couple of hard bucks. When the weight was gone off of his back, he took off running.

Austin hadn’t expected the bucking and he fell hard on his ass. It hurt but it would take a lot more to break anything in his body. He sat up and watched as the horse took off running. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought that the horse had a mind of its own. Well at least one that was comparable to a human’s.

A slight chuckle occurred and then, “For someone willing to take risks in the ongoing war of dark and light, you sure balk at the simple things.”

Austin stood up and dusted himself off. He gave a slight scowl at the goddess. “I appreciate fine things and dislike it when they are spoiled by stupidity.”

“A fine quality but unfortunately it seems that others have something else in mind.”

“Bollocks,” Austin replied. “Now I have to chase after the friggin’ horse and I can’t use my speed without attracting notice.”

“You already did when you met the younger Winchester,” Isis countered. “You’ve confirmed that there is such a thing as a good vampire even though he had witnessed it before with the ‘vegetarian’ group.”

“I would think that he would have known after having met Angie. She’s the epitome of being an enigma.”

Isis couldn’t help but laugh. She watched as Austin scowled at her. She knew what was going on with the horses after witnessing him interact with them. She suspected that the brothers had a hand in this but then again the animals were descendant from their prize pet that used to roam wild and free.

“What’s so funny to you?”

Isis knew that she had to direct Austin back to the animal and ultimately to Sam Winchester. The two had to work together again on this one if they were to find her favorite daughter. Ever since she had been lost to her sight, she had been worried. She couldn’t interfere since dire consequences have happened before in the past and manifesting as a mortal curtailed severely her powers, not that she could sense much anyway for the girl. No they had to do it. “The fact that you are way behind and in dire need to catch up.”

Austin scowled as started at a jog in the direction the horse had taken. He didn’t hear the goddess as she gave a few soft words for luck. He concentrated on the scent of the horse and followed it. It surprised him that it stuck to the road since it wasn’t a trained horse like you saw in the movies but then again it could be that the animal was just being nice after what it did to get rid of him. “I’ll never understand them the way they understand Chris or you Angie.”

Meanwhile the colt made it into town within good time. Its hooves clacked on the pavement as it slowed to a trot. Not too many people were out so that was a good thing. Continuing its trot, he waltzed down the street  like he was following a line of sugar; similar to his trainer hiding oats in his pocket. He rounded a corner, disregarding the stares of people passing through and would dance away from people trying to catch him. .

The colt passed by a black car just parked there and it paused a moment. Giving a slight whinny. He continued forward. The colt was in an alley at the back of a row of stores. The hoof beats were echoing off of the walls as he trotted forward. The colt paused as he heard something and he stopped. He perked his ears and then hearing it again, he walked slowly forward.

The colt found what he was looking for and rubbed his nose on the face looking up at him. He gave a grunt as well and all that earned was a moan. The colt gave a chortle that could have been mistaken for annoyance while he gave another bump with his nose. Having failed to achieve his purpose, the colt reared up and kicked the wall and made a racket.

Suddenly a door opened in the back. It slammed against the wall. The colt whinnied at the person who came out and then nuzzled the body. He calmed down when he felt an old weathered hand touch his neck. Now his job was done. He gave a deep rumble and a slight chortle when his ears picked up his trainer’s tread.

“Good horse,” a voice said and the hand patted his neck.


	5. Chapter 5

Natalia had gotten back after shopping at the store. She had managed to find all that Nana requested and even had enough for the toy car. She couldn’t resist after hearing the spiel Dean gave her about the finer points of a 1967 Chevy Impala. She had to admit that she had learned more about one car in one day than the days she spent with the boys she went to school with and learning what they knew.

She had to admit that she was amused that he took every opportunity to flirt with her. He had been incorrigible with it, never missing an opportunity to comment on her body and looks. She had never met anyone that persistent in hooking up with her. It didn’t even bother him when she mentioned her son. It was amusing but she also thought something was off about the whole thing.

Dean was a pleasant conversationalist but for some strange reason, she detected that something was not right about him. She wondered if he had been affected like the town had by that rage demon. He seemed rather calm and collected when she suspected that he was prone to outbursts at stupidity and when he was pissed that something had not gone the way it should. No this was different and she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

She put the bags on the counter and announced that she was back. Nana came walking in with Jerry holding onto her hands taking his first steps.  She couldn’t help but smile as she kneeled and held out her arms. The baby totted on unsteady legs towards his mother giggling as he did so. When he reached her arms, he fell forward and grabbed her around the neck. “You’re getting to be a big boy,” she crooned and the baby giggled.

Looking at him now, she could hardly believe that he had been the coughing, sick baby she had been hard put to get better. Now he was bouncing around and doing all the things that healthy babies were supposed to do. She would always be grateful to Angela for what she did for Jerry. Maybe one day they would meet again.

“Learning fast the child is. Has much to catch up on.”

Natalia stood up to hold Jerry and cuddle him. “Indeed he does Nana and it’s all because of her.”

Nana nodded in agreement. The eagle may symbolize courage and fortitude but its feathers were said to contain great healing powers. She replied, “A healer she is and still has much to learn and grow. Just like you.” She smiled at Natalia before ambling to empty the contents of the bags that Natalia had brought in. “Good. This will do nicely. Much cleansing to be done.”

Natalia nodded as she went to put Jerry in the playpen. He had toys in there and it was within hearing distance. She could agree with Nana that a cleansing ritual was needed. Smudging was a tradition that her people used to cleanse areas in order to perform any rituals or ceremonies that were considered sacred. Nana used them all the time when it came to purifying the store and putting up sachets for protection. That was why there was always the faint scent of herbs around the place. Customers didn’t even notice.

Nana laid out everything on the table while Natalia made sure that the baby was comfortable. She knew that the baby was a good boy and would only make a sound if he absolutely needed something. She watched as Natalia pulled out a toy car and hand it to the baby and showed him how to push it around. The baby gave a gurgle and started and started pushing it around on his own. Once Natalia returned to the table, she asked, “Tell me what you remember of smudging.”

Natalia knew that this was Nana’s way of teaching her more things. You started with the basics and then worked your way up. It was how all children learned. By asking for the basics, Nana was asking her how much she remembered of the beginning. She recalled what she had learned and said, “Smudging cleanses a person, a place or an object of negative energies or evil spirits and influences. There are two ways one can do this and the easiest is the smudge stick. The second requires burning the herbs over charcoal and fanning it out towards that which needs to be cleansed. The fanning starts on the left side, or the receiving side and you move from the bottom to the top.”

Nana nodded in approval. She knew that Natalia would remember that as much. In fact she remembered when she would ask her about the special herbs used and how she used to breathe them in after she told her what they were and that they must be treated with respect. Since the plants were living beings and they were giving of themselves proper respect. Nana motioned to the herbs on the table. She said, “Strongest one for cleansing. Drives out the unclean.”

To some, it may seem like a trick question. To Natalia, she knew that her grandmother was testing her on the herbs that she used and which ones truly performed the function that they were designated to do. Natalia picked up one and held it up, “Desert sage. Used to drive out negative energy, spirits and influences. Often it is used to purify before the sacred ceremonies.” She then picked up another herb and added, “White sage. It is used like desert sage but is use more often for the sweeter smells that it produces. There are others that produce the same effect like cedar and juniper.” She touched the herbs when she named each one.”

“Very good that you remember,” Nana nodded in approval. “Much cleansing will need to be done. Practice in making the smudge stick you need.”

Natalia nodded in agreement. She knew that her grandmother never did anything halfway when it came to teaching about the old ways. Watch, listen and learn were the ways she grew up with and they had helped her when she went to school. It enabled her to develop the ability to observe her surroundings. That was how she was able to spot the dangers when her husband died. By seeing the little things, she was able to avoid it but he hadn’t been so lucky.

She hadn’t lost that ability when she moved back in with Nana and some could say that she had an almost obsessive compulsive outlook in terms of cleanliness. She claimed though that old habits died hard and she really made no effort to change them. It would serve her well now that she was resuming that training Nana had been giving her. She started to pick up the white sage. It was her preference as well since she liked the sweet scent it gave.

Suddenly there was a huge thump that sounded like a car hit the wall. Natalia looked up at Nana who gave a slight frown. She checked on Jerry who was having fun playing with his new toy and headed towards the back where the thumping was occurring. Along the way, she picked up her tomahawk and held it ready to strike whoever was trying to create a ruckus. She didn’t realize that Nana was shuffling behind her until the old woman’s cane bumped her foot. She didn’t jump but it didn’t help her nerves since she had just spent a night kicking the crap out of her neighbors.

The thumping got louder as she neared the back door. Listening Natalia could swear that she heard whinnying. Was there a horse in that alleyway? Not wanting to risk the possibility of an ambush, Natalia slowly grabbed the handle and slowly turned the handle so the door popped open. She then gave a hard push and the door flung open with a hard bang. She jumped out ready to strike at something and nearly fell over.

Glancing down she saw that she nearly tripped over a body. She kneeled quickly and shouted, “Nana.”

The old woman shuffled out and saw immediately the horse as it stopped making the racket it had been earlier. She glanced at Natalia who was taking care of the boy. She had a feeling she would see the young warrior again and it looked like he needed help. Right now the horse was becoming a little agitated again so she reached up on the neck of the animal and started stroking it. She knew who it belonged to and muttered something in her language while telling the horse that it had done good.

Natalia didn’t worry about her grandmother and the horse. Nana was like the old man Johnson. They both respected animals and had a way with them. They tended to talk to them like they were people and it was amusing to see. Right now she had a situation and it was in the form of the unconscious lump that was Sam.

Natalia checked him over and saw that he was out cold. Whatever knocked him out did a good job and he was completely dead weight. She had no idea how she was going to get the giant inside just short of dragging him in by his feet. Her answer came jogging up later as a familiar sight appeared down the alley. She said, “Thank goodness you’re here. Can you help me lift him? Nana will take care of the horse.”

****

Dean finished his sandwiches with relish even though they tasted like crap. He glanced around the room to see if anything was out of the ordinary and went through the weapons bag. Sam did mention the possibility that something was lingering around even though Dean wasn’t quite ready to believe that. Sam did gank the thing after all and while it wasn’t the Colt and they lost that when Dad did his…

Dean thrust aside such thoughts as he went through the bag. His eyes alighted on something silver and he pulled it out. It was a beauty. It was like the hunting knife that he acquired after the first round of vamps with Dad but the one in his hand had elegance. He could tell that it had some age to it, much like she did. It wouldn’t surprise him and the cleanliness of it spoke of careful attention to weapons maintenance. No wonder Dad liked her.

Dean turned the blade in his hand and looked at it. Last night it had been covered in blood. It was clean but Dean had no trouble picturing the sight of it dripping off the tip. He noticed how she reacted to it. Sam did say that she hated the bloodsucking part but for some reason he thought that bloodsucking was fine in her case. Couldn’t change what you were born with no matter how hard you tried. Gordy said something similar about those vamps in Montana. It was in their nature and yet he let the vamp go because she resisted. Seeing it in person was enough for him.

Dean looked at the silver blade. He had seen many blades in this business but this was different. He studied the handle and noted the scrollwork on the handle. There were the traditional insignias that were used to fight the monsters and it was woven artistically with the sigils he had seen before when he had been forced to work with her in Chicago. Deadly beauty the blade could be described as he put it back in the holder.

Smoke on the Water began to play on his cell phone. With deliberate calm, Dean fished it out of his jacket pocket and took a brief look at the caller ID. He flipped it open, “Dean here.”

Dean listened to the voice on the other end as he frowned slightly. He then replied, “It’s a secure place. It’s not like anyone will think twice.”

The voice spoke to him again. Dean rolled his eyes at the tone. _What a whiny bitch._ When the voice stopped he replied, “I have to take care of a few things. I told you why assphat.”

The voice responded to that and Dean countered, “Fine. As soon as I’m finished I’ll be right over and I’ll bring it over like you asked. This had better work.”

Dean clicked his cell phone off and put it in his pocket. As he was doing so, he looked back down at the knife in the bag. He cocked his head to the side as a thought occurred to him. Why was it his and Sam’s equipment bag? The only reasonable explanation was that Sam took it and cleaned it. Sam was just as meticulous. Dean narrowed his eyes as he thought about it. The look was quickly gone as he put his usually gear on when he went out.

Sam was on an emo walk and those could take a while. Hell Samantha could go and bitch to his favorite shrink and the she wasn’t human. It might be better than nothing. Sam could annoy someone else for a change with his Sam talks. He was a big boy now and he didn’t have to watch him every single minute of every single day.

Grabbing his keys to the room and the Impala, Dean took one last look around the room. Sam had a key and could let himself back in. Right now he had to take care of a few things. He shut the door to the room. He paused out in the hall and glanced in the direction her room was in. With deliberate movements he turned and walked away and out of the motel. He paused once he was outside as if he sensed someone was watching him. Narrowing his eyes, he got into the Impala and made the engine roar to life and took off down the street.

****

It was nice to see the town go back to normal after all the fun that had occurred the past few days. It allowed for a human’s true feelings to show. Even the most goody-goody human had a violent half. They were all capable of it. That was a fact, a cold hard reality and the level of manipulation was just astounding. Now that the lure had been cast and the fish had been caught, it was time to scale the fish.

He watched as the elder Winchester walked out of the motel that he and Sammy had been shacked up in since they arrived in town. It seemed to be some sort of tick the Winchesters had when they sensed something was up. Then again they were trained in things that people shouldn’t be aware of. The ignorance was a blessing since most people didn’t believe that there were things they should be rightfully afraid of.

The Impala roared to life and pat out its gas guzzling roar and headed down the street. He didn’t need to follow. He knew exactly where the elder Winchester was going. He had known all along. It had been too easy and the batch they had used was perfect. Of course there were different reactions within different people. He had yet to try it on someone like Sammy or even the two Centurion dogs that were stinking up the place.

Patience though was the key. He had to be patient. Everything will come all in good time. He started down the street in the general direction the Impala had taken. Anyone who would have been watching would have been stunned to see a man walking down the street and then go behind a lamp post on one end and then disappear with nothing coming out the other side. Oh the beauty of fast travel. It was a delicious feeling.

He entered the room to take a look at her. She was out still and he marveled at how it was possible even though he had seen her shrug off worse. Still he couldn’t help but marvel at what a pretty little thing she was.

He walked up to her limp form and walked around to take in her appearance. She was unblemished save for the nasty welt on the back of her head. There was also some dried blood as well. He figured that he probably shouldn’t have given her captor the baton that was capable of leaving visible injuries. She was supposed to be unharmed but then again she was known to be a fighter and it would have gotten messy anyway.

He placed a finger under her chin and lifted the limp head so that he could take a look. She probably had never seen it coming. Then again who would if it was someone close?

“She is rather pretty.”

He looked up at his companion who had been guarding the compound. He gave a slow smile, “Of course. The boss said it is more likely the grace doing the work.” He then turned to look back at her inert form. He ran a finger along her cheek knowing that if she were awake, she would hate it. He remembered those times.

“So everything’s set for the trial?”

“Yes.” He looked down and fiddled with the loose tendrils of hair. “She was hit pretty hard but she’ll be awake for it all. Right now she must be having some pretty nasty dreams.” He gave a mocking pat to her cheek and walked out.

****

_It was a normal night. The job was a typical run in, chop the head off and burn the remains. Glancing to the right, again she was met with the pang of sadness that her little protector was no longer with her. Even after about two years, she still missed the mutt. He had been her companion after she decided that it was best for her to leave her best friend behind to live her life away from the world she lived in. The only thing she could do in return for the friendship was to make sure that life stayed that way._

_It was by chance that the job had been near Lawrence. Now that it was finished, and with minimal blood spatter, she figured that it would be good to swing by. Mary’s last letter stated everything was okay but perhaps maybe a peek for herself would help. She put her foot on the gas and sped towards Lawrence._

_The tug came in the back of her mind and she nearly crashed but she kept going. It was distress. The incoherent kind that would normally come from a child but it was there. She sped up breaking God knows how many speed laws. Time was of essence._

_The flames were in full swing at the house. She ran into the house and went to the source. She followed the flames to the source and looked up. Mary was suspended on the ceiling. Blood was dripping down from her stomach. She was pale and drawn from the blood loss like other victims she had once drained. The eyes were looking down at her. They were sunken in but they stared at her and into her soul. Slowly the lips began to move._

_She stood in the middle of the flames looking up. She didn’t even feel the heat as the flames licked at her coat. The lips kept moving and finally a voice came out, “Why? Why did you leave me?”_

_She backed away until she saw him. His yellow eyes never failed to incite anger. She started forward when all of a sudden, Mary, dead and pale was standing next to him. Her eyes were narrowed with hatred. “You did this to me! You were supposed to protect me!”_

_Yellow Eyes smiled and said, “You can’t save them all no matter what you try.”_

****

The space was like so many other times it could be considered nauseating. The cloud and the grey background was all very cliché. In fact it was typical of the epiphany variety though the grey would be replaced by white in some cases. Anyway that didn’t matter since the whole scene could be construed as boring and grey was considered boring even though it was a handy color in regards to hunting gear and it went with just about anything… kind of like black.

It was frustrating too.

Even though the whole area was grey, there was movement and images. The problem was that they were covered by a thin film of misty stuff. Everything looked out of focus. There was no definition, no light and no perspective on things. It was all a uniform grey and the cloud thingy that was hanging about in the way was like a thin filmy fabric. You couldn’t even reach out and touch it.

After a few frustrating moments, it was possible to see some things but it was not enough. The town of Hudson was fairly visible of all things and there were people about but it was like he couldn’t be seen.

“A realm between realms so to speak.”

Sam turned to see a Native American warrior? He had seen strange things in his life but this was bordering on the thing that could be considered creepy. Standing behind him was another warrior and he looked a little volatile and ready to spring at him but he also had a watchful eye on the one who was watching him. He ventured, “Dreaming?”

“Yes. I take it you are familiar with the experience?”

How could Sam forget that? That was when he first met Angela and she was anything but friendly at the time. He still wondered how she was able to do that whole tattoo thing in the first place. Dean occasionally ribbed him about it when he wanted to make fun of his nonexistent love life. Ever since though, he had not been able to do the dream walking thing. Sure he had nightmares and the occasional dream but the physical feeling of it was something else. “Yeah I know what you are talking about. A friend of mind is pretty good at it.”

“You seem to be pretty good at it yourself. It is not often that a human is able to make it just inside the veil.”

Sam frowned a bit at that. Was this guy implying that humans normally couldn’t do… whatever he just did. In fact the last thing he remembered was seeing Angela being tied up in that chair and in that cabin. He saw his mom take a swing at her and that thoroughly disturbed him. From all accounts of what he read in the journal, his mom loved Angela. Something was not right and he was betting that it was something lingering in town. He replied, “That’s fine and dandy but right now I need to get back to Hudson and find my friend.”

“Let me just kill him and be done with it. He probably is just another of the dream god’s minions.”

The warrior who had spoken to Sam looked at his companion. He said, “Now brother, you know that this one is not one of those things. Besides you would be killing me if you killed him.”

“Excuse me?”

The warrior looked at Sam. His face scrunched up into an expression that Sam knew well. In fact he would use the same look on Dean. The warrior then answered, “Figuratively Sam Winchester.”

Sam tried not to shake his head in annoyance at the number of things and people that knew him and Dean by name. They lived off the grid and used fake IDs. The most anyone would be able to get off of them would be a physical description and that was what the feds had of Dean for the murders that shifter did. He replied, the annoyance lining his voice, “You know I am not even sure whether or not to ask how it is that you know me by name.”

“He’s just like you when you get whiny.”

The warrior elbowed his brother. He gave a wry grin when he heard him grunt from the elbow to the stomach. “And just like me in annoyance.”

Sam stared at what apparently could be taken for brothers. The way they interacted, it was creepily similar to how he and Dean acted. “I’m going to take a guess and say that you two are brothers?”

“That is correct.” The warrior looked at Sam with an amused grin that was a reflection of Sam’s grin when he cared to express it. “I know it is strange to see yourself in me and your brother in my brother but that is what we are. We embody the characteristics of sibling pairs and people in general.”

The grey shimmer flickered slightly. Sam looked around and thought he heard something. This was something for the books and he was glad that Dad wasn’t around. He probably would have been locked up in the nuthouse.

The warrior didn’t seem perturbed as he looked around and in one direction in particular. He then said, “Ah I see our pet’s offspring has done what it is to do, brother. I think we should send him back now.”

“Whatever.”

“Wait,” Sam protested. He had questions and it was apparent he wasn’t going to get them answered as he was swallowed by light.


	6. Chapter 6

_It was a cold and stormy night in Ireland. The rain was coming down in torrents, not atypical for the spring rains but it was going to make the job difficult especially since they had to scale cliff sides. Angela looked and peered into the darkness, trying to see through the thick curtain of rain and strained to hear anything coming down the road. She hoped that there wouldn’t be anything. She didn’t want him there._

_She wasn’t to get her wish however when she heard the plodding of hooves on the road. She stood in the pouring rain, blending in with her dark clothes. When she heard the footsteps, she knew who it was and gave a soft sigh._

_“Didn’t think that I wouldn’t be here for all the fun?” The lilt Irish brogue came through the pouring rain._

_“You always did like a brawl,” Angela replied. “Everything is rigged for the climb down. Caleb is already down there.” She went to the edge and picked up the harnesses that she had rigged and tossed one to Sean._

_“Aye, good choice. Bet ya two bits that I’ll beat ya to the bottom.”_

_… “No!”_

_The lifeless body of Sean crumpled to the ground like a bag of bones. Angela looked at the lifeless body and then the monster that had snapped his neck like a twig. She felt rage bubbling up and she stood up and gripped her blade. She twirled it expertly and said, “Now you’ll die!”_

_She launched herself forward and her blade collided with a forearm. The blade sunk into the flesh and sizzled and burned but the monster just looked at her with amusement. He said, “You are angry. That is good. Use your hatred of our kind you little hypocrite.”_

_Angela glared as she let her eye teeth elongate and her eyes glow. She was nothing like these beasts that tried to walk amongst humans. She lashed out fiercely, letting her blade bite flesh and relishing in the burning sounds that filled her ears. She could smell the burning flesh as she struck and struck. Then she heard a sound. It was a familiar one and she stopped and turned._

_The lifeless corpse of Sean had moved, turning its head to look at her. The expression was a pained one. The face was already pale since Death had touched him but he was moving. The eyes blinked as they showed hatred. They burned with it as they looked at her. Then the body got up but the head was not right. It was lopped over to the side since it had just been broken. The body made an effort to right its head and it snapped up with a sickening crack. It looked at her and said, “You, you did this to me.”_

_“You jumped in before the signal.”_

_“You led me to my death. You were supposed to have my back. Bloody vamp!”_

_Angela paused and it became a mistake. Something hit her and knocked her over. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from Sean. Then there was his wife and son standing with him. They had the same look of hatred. “You! This is all your fault!”_

_“You killed me.”_

_“You killed my husband.”_

_“You killed my father.”_

_Angela felt for the first time, in a long time, fear. She backed away from the advancing figures. She could see Sean’s face distort into a wicked grin. He was saying something but she didn’t hear it as she stepped off the edge of the cliff and sank into darkness…_

****

The body jerked in response to whatever the mind was seeing. Morpheus stood watching, occasionally glancing at the one who was forcing him to do this. He felt raw anger at this being and couldn’t tell if it was the being’s aura that made him feel that way. Whatever he did to the human male was surely going to be used against the fragile state this creature was being put into.

She, from all appearances, looked innocent but when the human male brought her in, there was a look that could only be described as single-minded focus. From a quick inspection of the eyes, Morpheus could tell that he was far under the being’s control. She possessed strength but it could easily crumble and that was what he was doing to her and he was powerless to stop it.

He had been minding his own business in his realm, influencing the images that mortals conjured in their minds and allowed them to play them out. The Greeks called him the god of dreams. Some called him the Dream King while his sister was the Queen. He was often said to be the one that created nightmares and the like while his sister or wife created the dreams. It was true that he did have some fun with the nightmares since some of the things that mortals had fears of were about as funny as the idea of a man eating rabbit. So it was partially true but then what god didn’t have fun?

_The Lady would never at the expense of a mortal._

Morpheus resisted making movements to indicate he heard something. It was his sister reminding him again. He could only hope that whatever plan she had in mind would work. The binding spell was a powerful one and Morpheus concluded that one of the higher ups in the demon hierarchy had brought it out and given it to this being. He had been lured in by a prospective dreamer and ensnared and now his power was used to greatly advance the effects of the mugwort concoction that they came up with.

The body twitched again. That was the signal that he was to read her mind at what her dreams conjured up and make the dream a reality. It was time for her to wake soon. He didn’t have to delve too deeply. Most of what they wanted she wore in the upper reaches of her mind. They were never that far from her current train of thought, as if she used them to influence her judgment. At least they were extending a kindness and not letting a djinn loose on her. Those creatures were a mistake but because life is valued, they were allowed to flourish.

“What do you have?”

Morpheus looked at his captor and saw that the human male had joined them. This sick game had to end soon. He could only hope his sister had managed to convince the brothers to help. They were good at what they did but they could be sticklers for the rules in regards to trapezing through the mortal realm and the like. Maybe they might use the dream realm.

“Well douchey, what did she say?”

Morpheus scowled at the human male. He could tell that he was essentially good at heart but playing on rage and jealousy and then playing on what had been said was going to make this human regret things when it was over. Perhaps he could do a few things to prolong the inevitable. So far they were old memories, nothing that would bring too much response to the human. Eventually he would have to delve into those and once they surfaced in the dreams, he had to make come real as per the binding spell. He looked again at the body as she started waking. Damn. He said, “Nothing of importance yet. Just old memories of a time long ago.”

****

The fog was still heavy as her lids began to open. The place hadn’t changed much. It was the same cabin place she had woken up the first time. That was nice thing about reality. There was always the constant and that was the thing to grab onto in the midst a world of chaos and insanity. That had been a hard lesson learned and from a place that she would rather forget.

That last dream was like a bad dream and a reflection of the many she had when hunts went wrong. Sean’s death though was more like a turning point with all that… to some degree. The look his wife gave her when she walked in carrying his limp body that stormy night was one that said she had betrayed her and her trust. Even after explaining what had happened, she accepted the blame. What did she care? There was plenty of time to think about it.

“Ya always were a late riser ya know. Especially after a big hunt.”

Angela opened her eyes and looked towards the source of that familiar Irish brogue. She opened and closed her eyes to make sure that they were working properly. She could make out the familiar shape of Sean O’Brien. She replied, “Eat me.”

“Now is that the way to be talking to an old friend?”

“It is when you are dead and you are looking at me with that look,” Angela retorted as Sean came into focus. Her neck was sore from the angle her head had been lolled at. She gave a slight shake of her head to relieve the tension as she followed the image of Sean. She was convinced that someone was messing with her.

Seeing Mary again had been a shocker. She found though that Mary was close to her heart but not the closest thing and maybe that was why she wasn’t fooled by the mental torture. It wasn’t fun living through them again in her dreams especially with the twisted versions of the people that had been left behind like Sean’s wife.

That woman was pissed at her but eventually she forgave her. Angela had made it up to her by refusing to take the boy as an apprentice and teach him to hunt. The forgiveness came when the boy’s mother begged her to teach him everything she knew. In the end Angela did teach him and the boy became an exceptional hunter. He became well known within the European hunting circles though there was one group that was not of the hunting circles she rolled with that requested his services. That had been a laugh for a few weeks.

Looking at this image of Sean, she could see that while she had felt guilty for involving him in the first place, he was one of the few that she could let go because he made the choices he did. It was never easy to accept that but she did in that case and that was why it had been scary in the nightmare but not in reality.

Sean was looking at her and said, “And what look would that be? We used to be the best of partners… well until I died.”

“From your foolishness.”

Sean grinned that wicked grin from her dream. Great. He replied, “I was merely following your plan. You knew the chance of getting those lasses back were slim.”

Angela narrowed her eyes and she forced her other senses to wake through the thick fog that was tormenting her by making her head feel fuzzy. She could hear breathing and it was distinct. There were at least two others in the room. She couldn’t get specifics but at least it was something given the position that she was in. She replied, “At least I had a plan that gave us a chance.”

“More like a suicide mission. Remember? I died.”

Angela gave a narrow look at Sean. Anyone watching could have said that the movement mirrored Sam’s expression down to the last movement as she twisted her head sideways. She replied, “All because you jumped before the starting pistol went off. You were eager.”

“Spare me the lies. You spent all that time teaching me everything and for what? For you to send me on a suicide mission!” Sean’s voice sounded harsher and darker and the brogue sounded like a rusty gate grating on its hinges.

Angela remembered how angry Sean could get over the things the monsters would do to people. He still had deep seated issues regarding the vamp that killed his parents and siblings a when he was just a boy. Those memories were often the basis for his actions. She knew it was what prompted him to act prematurely on many hunts and that one in particular. She kept the narrow look and replied, “I trained you to be a better hunter. The personal stuff got in the way. I warned you.”

“Bullshit.” Sean got in Angela’s face. His eyes were burning with hatred. “You taught me how to get myself killed you blood sucking bitch.”

Angela couldn’t help but start to laugh. For some reason this whole thing was ridiculous. Whatever was bringing up these memories was only scratching the surface. While they hurt, they weren’t a heart stopper. Mary was close but that healed like a scar and protected what was left. This was just little stuff. The absurdity of trying to torture her mentally with Sean and possibly a hundred others she had met was hilarious. She did have the sense to realize that the number could wear her down but she figured she could handle it.

Watching Sean’s face turn that shade of red she remembered when he was extremely pissed and also drunk she couldn’t help but laugh. She replied, “Just what I expected from a memory of a sixteen year old brat.”

****

Morpheus was amused by the display as well as impressed. Never had he met someone that could resist the power of the hallucinogens as well as the dreams he induced. That required extreme mental discipline as well as some talent with mental abilities. He had never seen that in a dhampir, or with the more pure members of her kind. Even the purebloods didn’t possess that kind of faculty if there were any. There were some but they were of a different variety.

Watching her interact with the image of Sean, Morpheus could tell that he was only scratching the surface. He glanced at his captor and saw that he was puzzled at the reaction she was giving. It would only be a matter of time before he would be ordered to amp up the juice.  When that time came, he would be forced to reach in deep and pull out what was near and dear and that usually ended up being the worst fears imaginable.

The human was watching with an inscrutable look on his face. Morpheus was puzzled at this. At one point he was willing to do what it took to get what he wanted and other times it was as if something was holding him back. The possibility was that the human bore a connection and deep down, he knew the truth but with what he had been seeing and hearing and the realistic look of things, it was no wonder that there was confusion within the grapefruit.

At any other time Morpheus would have had fun in tormenting humans in that state particularly if they happened to be dark at heart. His sister was forever after him over that. The human there was somewhat a perfect candidate for that. He had some of those qualities that could be turned into continuous harm for his fellow humans. Yet Morpheus could tell that his heart was not of cruelty but with the right push, he could be. He knew there was only one capable of doing that. It was no secret amongst the others.

The laughter caught him off guard. Morpheus drew his attention away from the being and the human and back to her. She was looking at the manifestation of that Sean O’Brien kid that he found in her memories with a peculiar expression. When she started laughing, he thought she had cracked under the strain but a closer look showed the god of dreams that she had not cracked. To the god, she seemed to have found the whole scene funny even though she was being hurled verbal abuse and twisted versions of memories.

Morpheus was interested in this reaction. True this wasn’t the heavy dose he was capable of but it was pretty strong. Then maybe he was using the wrong thing and he hoped that he was. He didn’t want to dig deeper even though he was now curious about her reaction and possible reactions.

_She is one of them._

Morpheus gave a slight side twist of his head as in deep thought. His sister was more in tuned with who the champions or whatever the buzz word was nowadays were. Hell as if he paid attention to any meetings or ‘discussions’ between the other gods and of course the Seer. Listening to his sister talk to him in his mind was the only thing that was virtually his own ever since he had been forced into this. What his sister said though made sense.

The girl was still laughing while the hallucination became much angrier. Morpheus watched with interest until he was told, “Find something else.”

Morpheus looked at his captor. He replied, “I have touched that which could stir up things.”

“I want the reaction from him,” and his captor motioned to the human. “That is part of what needs to be completed”

Morpheus looked over at the human who was just watching the girl and her talking. The god knew that the human was seeing the girl just talking to no one. However what this demon wanted was a place that the god knew where few had little difficulty knowing the difference between reality and hallucination. The crazies that he paid a visit to were a testament to the rogues that he frequently had to deal with. He then turned his gaze back to the demon and glared. He replied, “What you want depends on what she is willing to let surface.”

“This is child’s play. She laughs,” the demon indicated.

“Perhaps it is her mind reasserting what is real and what is not. It is different for all people,” Morpheus replied with a shrug of his shoulders. He was treading water for now and he could try to refuse what this demon wanted. Of course the demon could always invoke his binding spell and the idea pissed the god off.

“Then you will have to amp up the juice.”

“You know it doesn’t work that way,” Morpheus returned with a narrow look. “Dreamers ultimately set the rules.”

“That is a load of bull and you know it. You’re the one controls it.”

Morpheus crossed his arms in annoyance. He was going to fight this even if it killed him. “I merely make them come to life. The dreamers create what they want. Some are better at it than others and become dream walkers.”

The demon growled at the god and raised a fist. He paused however when the god bristled and let a bit of his power show, he backed down. Even though he held the chains on the old god, there were loopholes. Fortunately the god hadn’t discovered them yet and the demon was determined to make sure that it stayed that way. “I want the worst thing that’s in the hell bitch’s head to come out… by any means necessary.” The demon looked at the god who was still giving him the look. “You know what I mean.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about. You must have me confused with another god,” Morpheus replied still crossing his arms. He looked away to show a turn of defiance. It was bold but he wanted to delay the inevitable. Most mortals thought him to be an evil entity but he was not really. All mortals needed to dream.

Dreaming was how mortals worked through their issues. Where the lines became blurry was when the ethereal energies spiked for visions. That was a random event and had a purpose that even he couldn’t interfere with. Every step he was taking now would probably prolong the inevitable in this case but he would do what he could.

“If you want rage and distrust, you should be doing this.”

The demon scowled. “Rage is as only as good as the excuse that is needed for it. In this case what goes on in her grapefruit concerning the human. His brother won’t be affected as much if any. It is proof that the specials are what he wants.”

“As if I care what your boss wants.”

“You would if you want your precious playground to remain. Especially that queen of yours.”

Morpheus looked at the demon. Threats had been made against him and his realm but now the threat extended to his sister. His eyes became a dangerous look as he looked at the demon. “You are meddling with things that you cannot possibly comprehend. Old things… ancient things.”

“So you do know what I want.”

“I never said that.”

“You didn’t have to.” The demon smirked at the god. “You see, just as the gods are aware of the demon hierarchies, the demons are aware of the gods and their position within this world. You are considered and old one but not quite one equivalent to the ones higher up.”

“That only proves that you studied the order of beings.”

“Maybe so but you are aware that you can do more. That is what I want.”

Morpheus looked at the demon. He then looked at the girl who was carrying a sarcastic conversation with the hallucination. Every other reply was punctuated by a chuckle or an outright laugh. To the god it was clear that she was resisting and quite well. He was faced with a choice. He could do what the demon wanted and torment the girl by forcing deep to the worse fears that were in that grapefruit of hers and protect his sister. Or he could resist and the demon was going to do whatever it wanted or send someone else to do it against his sister.

_Don’t._

Morpheus heard his sister as he contemplated his choices. He glanced over at the two that were being manipulated in this sick game. At least his games were not the kind to cause lasting harm unless he chose it. It became clear. He looked at the demon in the eye and said, “No.”

“What?”

“No. I won’t do this.” Morpheus crossed his arms in defiance.

The demon looked at the god. Now he was being a stubborn ass? He growled and was about to say something. His temper was up and he didn’t know what he was going to do except force the god to do what he wanted.

“You said that she knew things about that thing we talked about. If this is all, then I’m out.”

The demon looked at the human. Now it was time to get drastic. He stopped the human by turning on his mojo and whispering something in his ear. He then turned his attention to the god and looked him straight in the eye and said, “Up the juice now.”

“No.”

The demon looked the god in the eye and then gave a slow smile as he took a step back. He then said, “You will do as you are told.” The demon then started saying words of a spell and gave a malicious grin towards the god.

Morpheus heard the words. He felt his binds starting to work on him. He resisted but the effort was becoming exhausting. He couldn’t resist. He walked towards the girl tied to the chair. He noticed that the welts had become inflamed again. He felt regret as he reached towards her head. He then heard a slight whisper, “It is all right. Whatever you do… you are forgiven.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The warrior brothers are part of a Navajo tale. One is called Monster Slayer and the other Child of the Water. Both are said to save the world from monsters.

_7 Hours Earlier_

The smells were thick as they assaulted Sam’s nose. He recognized them as herbs but they were pretty strong and there seemed to be a mixture of them. It was pretty effective, more than smelling salts. He slowly opened his eyes to see the tan paint of a room and what looked like a huge crack. Putting his hand up to his forehead to rub the throb that was dissipating faster than the last one, he gave a slight groan.

“Glad to see that you’re awake, idjit.”

Sam sat up but too quickly and plopped back down. “What happened?”

Bobby looked up from the book he had been reading on loan from the creepy old broad and her granddaughter. He looked over at Sam and said, “Well aside from the obvious, ya passed out.”

Sam rolled his eyes as he stared back up at the ceiling. “Thanks for the info.” He sat up again this time slowly and found that he had been plopped on a couch.

“Watch your tone, boy. What is the matter with you?”

“What do you mean, Bobby?”

Bobby looked ready to hit Sam upside the head with his book. He gave an annoyed shake of his head as he looked at the young hunter trying to make sense of where he was. He replied, “I told you to stay put and find your idjit brother.”

Sam pinched the bridge of his nose. “Dean came back after you called.” He then looked up at the grizzled hunter who was wearing a cross between a look of concern and annoyance at him being stupid. It really was not a good time to be dropping bombshells but with Angela missing and then there was Dean. Well might as well get it over with and besides Bobby needed to know. “Bobby, I think something is not right with Dean.”

Bobby peered at Sam and asked, “What makes you say that?”

Sam gave a pensive look that quickly changed to a puzzled one as he thought about what he was going to say. “Well something was off when he talked to me. I mean he jumped all over my ass when he found the bottle of aspirin out but when I mentioned Angie missing and the possibility that we didn’t finish the job here, he seemed a little… different. I can’t put my finger on it.”

Bobby gave a thoughtful frown. That was something to think about but right now the main focus was Sam who was looking like hell. “Okay so maybe there is something we missed. Right now though we need to make sure that you’re okay. Now you said you had a vision. What did you see?”

Sam could still see it clearly. Why that vision was something of a mystery. Seeing that Bobby was waiting for an answer, he replied, “Well it was Angie. She was tied up and the strangest thing was Mom was beating on her. I don’t get it Bobby.”

Bobby listened to the short version of Sam’s vision. He knew that pressing for details at this point could piss the boy off or force him to retreat and go off on another fool quest of his own. The fact that Sam mentioned seeing his mother alive and well told him that they were dealing with something that was probably a high risk thing… whatever it was. It could be a powerful demon and he had been reading up quite a bit on the nature of demon hierarchies and specialty demons.

The one thing that had Bobby concerned was the nature of death of the rage demon. He remembered reading that rage demons were just as skilled as pride and greed demons in the art of illusions. While the death appeared standard according to Angela’s notes that he read in her neat spidery writing in the margins, he had the feeling right from the beginning that this was far from over. With Dean not being himself and having disappeared for hours at a time, Bobby was beginning to suspect that they had not killed the damn thing and that it everything was a show.

“I see you are awake. I brought some of Nana’s tea. Drink.”

Bobby turned to see the girl that he had spoken to over the phone. The girl Natalia had answered Sam’s phone and at first Bobby thought that Sam had taken a leaf out of Dean’s book and would have hung up until the girl asked if he was Bobby Singer. He grilled her right then and there and was surprised that she hadn’t broken down in tears or even shouted at him. Instead she just calmly told him that Sam was all right and that he was at her store.

Bobby had called Sam with the intent on asking which motel he and Dean were staying in. Now he was sitting on some chair that looked like it might collapse any moment and had the company of the girl, her grandmother, a baby and a boy who looked like he would rather be elsewhere or looking as if he expected something to jump out at any given moment.

Sam looked up to see Natalia holding a mug of what he assumed was tea though the smell suggested otherwise. He took the cup and would have sat on the couch holding it out of politeness if the old woman hadn’t come in and gave him a piercing look. The last person to give him that look was… well Angela and that was when she shoved a chicken salad at him after he denied being hungry and that was after another nightmare about Jess. Dean had thought it humorous until Angela shoved a burger that she later told him was a tofu burger.

Realizing that he wasn’t going to get out of drinking the stuff, he took a tentative sip and tried not to make a face. It tasted foul and he gave a slight cough. Natalia gave a silent look of apology before taking back the mug once he drained it. The old woman stared at him and said, “Good. Now you can think clearly.”

Once the old woman left, Bobby turned towards Sam and said, “I like her. At least you listen to her.”

“She had a mean cane,” Sam joked weakly. Whatever was in that tea was bitter and… he had no idea what he tasted except that it was a funny taste. “So Bobby, how did you know I was here?”

“That girl in there answered. So ya decided to take a walk now did ya?”

“I had to think about what I saw and Natalia is like me Bobby. She’s a psychic.” Sam managed to move his long legs so he was sitting upright on the couch. “I think Angie knew that too. Maybe that’s why… I don’t know.”

“You’re thinking that she was touching what she wasn’t supposed to be touching and now she’s paying the price,” Bobby posed for clarity.

“Thing is she would have been taken after hooking up with us. That would be the logical choice,” Sam replied as he frowned in thought. The vision itself was weird since Angela wasn’t like the other psychics. Then there was that dream walking thing and meeting those two warrior brothers. He wondered if it was that demon Lenya’s doing. Angela didn’t go into too much deal about her but she implied that the hell bitch was capable of illusions.

“I can tell that you’re thinking of something. Spit it out son,” Bobby said.

Sam was still frowning as he thought about the last few hours that didn’t include the passing out. He replied, “Well what I don’t get is that it was about Angie. Most of the visions I’ve had were related to other psychics. Before you ask, no Angie’s like that. Another thing is that when we killed the demon Ramos, there was this other one called Lenya. Angie knew her from way back.”

“Great, past history with a demon is never good.”

“How do you figure? Because Angie’s definition of way back extends a few centuries? Bobby she admitted as much that it has been years since they had a slugfest. But I did get the feeling that it extended deep and to a place that Angie won’t talk about.”

Bobby grumbled slightly as he placed something to mark his place. His habit was to dog ear pages but he got the feeling that the old woman wouldn’t like that. “Great another hunter with issues like ya two idjits. Alright so maybe it is this demon since I am assuming she got away.”

Sam didn’t say anything as he continued thinking. He didn’t notice when a small hand grabbed his pant leg. He was still in a conversation with Bobby, “Lenya got away and Angie said that she likes to play mind games.”

“Well this could be considered a mind game if it’s messing with ya.”

Sam shrugged his shoulders and replied, “Would it include having a dream walking experience and you meet two guys that look like they belong back in the old West?”

“You went dream walking again? I thought she put an end to that?”

Sam remembered back when he asked for an explanation but not from her. He replied, “That was until the job was done. This was the first time in a while.” He then frowned when something hit him in the leg. Looking down, he saw a small boy probably two years old and grabbing his jeans and smiling up at him. In his free hand he was holding an animal toy, a wooden one and he was banging it on Sam’s leg with surprising force. He looked at the baby with a frown.

The baby hit Sam again with the wooden animal and held it out to him. “Take.”

Sam shot a look at Bobby before taking the wooden animal. Right then and there the baby’s mother came in and apologized. Sam reassured her, “No, it’s no problem Natalia. He packs a good punch.”

Natalia smiled and replied, “Thanks to your friend. Oh and I happened to overhear you mention two warriors. Did you mean the warrior brothers?”

Bobby became interested and asked, “Warrior brothers, as in the warrior twins?”

Natalia shrugged her shoulders and she held Jerry on her hip. She had been surprised that the baby managed to get this far after getting out of his playpen. She had been looking for him when she overheard the conversation going on between him and Mr. Singer. Nana mentioned something about leaving them alone to talk which was why she, Nana and Austin were out in the store. Well Austin was outside taking care of the colt that had become increasingly quiet the last two hours. She had happened to overhear the warrior brothers and became interested. She replied, “I believe that is what they are known in some cultures but Navajo tradition tells of two brothers who virtually save the world from monsters.”

Sam glanced up at Natalia and asked, “Seriously?” He had heard of plenty of strange things but this was like mirroring him and Dean somewhat. It had the hint of crazy.

“More or less.” Natalia then left to go put the baby down for his nap.

Bobby sat back pondering. Some things were starting to make some sense but there were still huge holes in the whole thing. “Well there is some sense in all this. The part where you dream walk.”

Sam looked back at Bobby, his fingers twiddling the wooden animal in his hand. “What are you thinking of Bobby?”

Bobby opened the book he had been reading. He flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for. One of the nice things about being in a tourist shop was that they always had books on local lore and the like. The downside of that was that sometimes they were doctored to fit a specific gimmick and make money. What Bobby could tell that wasn’t the case with this place. The old woman had things placed in significant areas and upon closer inspection, he could see that they were the real deal. Placing the opened book in Sam’s hands, Bobby explained, “That Natalia girl is right in that her version of the warrior brothers are Navajo. However every major culture has stories of brothers, sometimes twins that battle the forces of evil. Supposedly they represent the qualities found in sibling pairs or partnerships. Much on that aspect is pretty vague.”

“Isn’t that usually the case?” Sam replied as he scanned the pages.

“Don’t get cheeky, boy,” Bobby warned, “Anyway, they are a specific kind of being that primarily exists ‘between realms’ and it has been taken to mean dreams.”

****

Austin stayed with Child of the Water to keep an eye on him after Natalia asked him to haul the boy named Sam up and dump him on the couch. He was willing to oblige just as long as he got the colt back otherwise the old man would probably fire his ass. It wouldn’t be the first time but that would make things difficult in terms of his orders.

He had run into town chasing the colt after having a few moments chat with the goddess. He swore that she popped up at the strangest of times just to mess with him. He had no idea why except that she probably thought him to be a pain in the ass. He never pretended to understand the goddess but he did try to at least humor her even when her requests were borderline stupid and crazy.

He caught up with the colt as it was calming down from a kicking spree and much to his surprise, the old woman he had met previously was tending the animal. At first he thought she was going to get herself killed since she had a cane and she sort of waddled when she walked. However the animal responded to her like she had been doing this a long time. It wouldn’t surprise him since he had met plenty that were similar to her and the old man during his years around. That was when Natalia asked him for his help.

Austin hadn’t actually seen her until she called to him. She had been hidden by some empty boxes that were stacked to be taken away and she was kneeling over a body. A closer inspection revealed it to be none other than Sam Winchester. It took everything he could not to sigh. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the human hunter. It was actually the fact that he had that smell that the others had. He hadn’t told Natalia since he figured that would have hurt her feelings but he could smell the demon blood that was in her and he could smell it in Sam.

When he first met Sam, he thought it odd. He had read the reports on the Winchester brothers and their exploits in hunting things. The incident with the demon possessing the plane was impressive, especially for Dean since the older sibling had a fear of heights. He thought them to be typical humans with a wide lucky streak… and a set of eyes watching over them. Coming face to face with Sam, he resisted the urge to launch into an attack.

One of Austin’s chief talents was his ability to distinguish demon blood from human blood. It was something that he learned from the best and he wondered why she never said or did anything about the specials other than ‘aggressively negotiate’ for their protection. For Austin, smelling the blend of demon blood within a seemingly normal human child was like smelling a really badly burnt piece of meat or something akin to that. He took it more as a sign that the specials were nothing more than abominations and at one point had suggested that they be dealt with. He actually had been tasked with dealing some of the more deadly specials who were a threat not only to themselves but to others. Those he dealt with actually thanked him for ending it. That was until he met the last one.

After that, he refused and let her deal with the council. He just tolerated the smell as best as he could and tried to be civil even though it was instinct to be repulsed. So smelling it on Sam Winchester and then Natalia Abeyta was getting hit with a double whammy. At least he had a job with the old man and he lived a fair distance away. Of course he couldn’t tell Natalia any of that.

Austin looked at the colt that was looking at him with a reproachful look as he brushed him down in front of the store. He said, “Don’t give me that. You’re the one who should be in trouble.”

The horse gave a slight rumble.

“You’re the one who took off like a freaking bullet train.”

The colt gave a slight whinny. It tossed its head as if it were indignant. Anyone watching would have thought it weird.

“Yeah I know you ‘sensed’ Sam to be in trouble but hell couldn’t you have given me a break here? I am supposed to break you in and I know what happens if you goo too fast on that kind of thing. So excuse me for caring.” Austin motioned while he spoke in his normal sarcastic voice at the horse. He continued brushing the animal’s coat as he had for the last two hours after seeing to the basic needs of food and water.

“Horse just reacted to help a fellow warrior in need.”

Austin turned to glance at the old woman who had come out to watch him groom the colt. He continued to brush while rubbing a hand over the horse’s flank. He replied, “Well he certainly lives up to his name if that’s what you are getting though I would have expected his sibling to have rushed to his aid. That’s the nature of the brothers if I recall.”

“You are right and yet you are not right, hunter of evil blood.”

Austin stiffened at that phrase slightly. He finished what he was doing and held the brush in his hands. Habitually he leaned against the horse’s flank looking very casual while he did so. People told him he looked like he had just woken up when he stood that way. It didn’t surprise him since that was more or less his cover. He replied, “What do you know about that?”

“Others like you have come through here. They seek out the children who have been marked by the dark one. You used to do the same.” The old woman stared at him as if daring him to deny this.

Austin sighed, “I did but I don’t anymore.”

“Yet it is clear that you don’t like them. Much effort you exert to not shy away when they approach you.”

“It’s pretty hard considering that the stench of demons is in their blood and no amount of hot water and soap can wash that away,” Austin countered. He hadn’t meant for the next part to come out harsh but it was a relief to be honest with someone even if it was an old woman who was protecting one of the specials. “In fact that only makes it smell worse.”

“And yet you are willing to protect them. Good boy you are.”

Austin couldn’t help but roll his eyes at that. The old woman said that the day he rode into town and she still kept saying it. He was not a good person. Hell none of the others who fought evil and the whole kit and caboodle were that either. They were realists and knew they had blood on their hands. Hell he had blood on his hands too. This job was chock full of that. He replied, “I’m not who you think I am.”

“Neither does she think so either.”

“What do you mean?”

Nana looked at the young man as he stared at her through the sunglasses. She knew his kind well. A long time ago, the less restrained version of his kind came through here and nearly had their way with this town. They were gotten rid of eventually by someone like Austin. She replied, “See much you and others like you do. Have time to think on actions.”

Austin finally stood up and packed the brush in a bag on the saddle. He stroked the horse earning a friendly rumble. “I have no clue as to what you mean.”

“Creature of the night you are.”

Austin turned quickly to look at the old woman. She stood there impassively before starting towards the door. Austin moved quickly to her side. “Wait. You know what I am?”

“Seen many like you.”

“Then I guess I haven’t been doing my job too well.” Austin took a slight step back. He was aware that he probably had moved too fast and could have easily startled others that were on the street if they happened to be out. He was lucky though that there were few to none out that day in that part of town.

“Do your job well you have.” Nana paused as she turned away from the door. “You bring one warrior here. Now save the brother you both must.”

Austin had no idea what the old woman was getting at. As far as he had managed to make out when Sam was mumbling in his sleep as he carted him in like a sack of potatoes was that Angela was in trouble. As far as he was concerned, that was his priority. If he wanted to be honest, he could care less about the Winchesters and their problems. By all accounts they were capable of both getting themselves in and out of their own messes. He replied, “Frankly I don’t know what you are talking about but if it involves the Winchesters, it’s not really my problem. I have my orders.” He then abruptly turned to pet the horse for the lack of anything better to do and it did give some semblance of work.

“Yes. A sorry thing that you must follow orders.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Austin turned back towards the old woman. He crossed his arms for good measure knowing full well that wouldn’t intimidate her in the least. It was just an old habit.

“You follow orders and yet when one needs help, you get by with the bare minimum… unless it is something near to your heart.”

Austin was beginning to think that the old woman and Angela must have been sisters in another life for they sounded exactly the same. They both had a tendency to hit the tenderest of places and often to make a point. He sighed, “The Winchesters can handle themselves. If they want help, all they have to do is ask. It’s not that hard. Mine are to watch the girl until a permanent solution can be found. Is that what you wanted from me?”

“And yet you do not like being around them. Rooted in something deeper it is.” The old woman grasped the handle of the door. “Time to go in. Must talk to the boy about what he saw. Has seen many things he has and yet does not know.” She walked in muttering something in her language.

Austin gave a slight shake of his head. He really needed to learn patience with the old ones who practiced the old ways. They could be clear when they wanted to and other times they were as cryptic as the metaphors of the tome regarding something outlandish like the Order of Melchizedek. He sat on the curb and stared at nothing until he caught the horse looking at him. “What are you looking at?”

“I would say that he is puzzled. Did you say something to him?”

Austin looked up to see Natalia standing beside him. He could smell the blood but he could smell something else. The taint was the same but then again she didn’t smell like the others. If he could be certain, it was… lavender? He replied, “He’s a trouble maker though I believe his sibling is supposed to be the more volatile.”

Natalia looked at the horse. She had heard Austin call it by name and she recognized the name. It was what enabled her to give that tidbit to Sam and his friend Mr. Singer. She began to wonder if there was a connection between everything. She did overhear that Sam was ‘special’ and from the tidbits she had overheard, it was visions. Thing was though what he described was different than what she had seen. It would be something to ask when the awkward introductions were finished. She replied, “Well sometimes siblings can be surprising. Are you coming in?”

Austin made a slight face. He didn’t want to smell Sam’s scent again right now but now that the old woman sort of gave a challenge, he felt the urge to take it up. He stood up and said, “Lead on.”


	8. Chapter 8

It was rather awkward sitting at the table with nothing to say at the moment. Sam thought he and Bobby were overstaying their welcome. They could take it from there and find Dean and Angela and there would be no more need to put Natalia and her family in danger. At the moment Natalia came in with that Austin guy and Bobby came in from the kitchen where he had been pestering the old woman about her books. At least he could try to convince her that everything was okay. He said, “Hey uh Natalia thanks for helping me out but if it’s all right, Bobby and I’ll be going.”

Natalia opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Nana saying, “Not go yet.”

Sam turned to see the old woman shove another mug of that foul tasting tea in front of him along with something that looked like a sandwich. He could almost swear that the old woman was related to Angela especially when the old woman said, “Need to get back what was lost.”

“I suggest ya do what she says,” Bobby added. He had an interesting conversation with the old woman and found out some things that could be helpful in the future. The benefit was that at least Sam would be given time to settle down and figure out his next move. Bobby figured right that he wanted to get started on his search and that meant ignoring the necessary things like food and water.

Sam had a feeling this had been planned while he was out cold and gave Bobby a knowing glance. He reached for the mug since the old woman was watching and took a gulp. It wasn’t as bad as the first time but that didn’t make it taste any better. He finished it up and tried not to groan she filled it again. He toyed with it and said, “Bobby we should probably get going if we’re going to find Dean and figure this out.”

As if someone had heard him, Sam’s phone began to ring. Sam grabbed it and checked the caller ID and finding out who it was, answered, “Dean?”

_Sam, where the hell are you? I’ve been back for nearly an hour._

Sam gave a slight frown and motioned to Bobby. He replied, “I was out asking around about Angie. She hadn’t come back.” He held the phone so that Bobby could listen in and made sure the volume was cranked up.

_I was asking around too. No one’s seen her. Oh and I think that I may have something on what’s going on in this town._

Sam looked at Bobby who gave him some encouragement. He replied, “That’s great. Hey Bobby’s here with me. We’ll head back to the motel and figure out our next move.”

_Bobby’s here? Well, the more the merrier. I’ll see ya guys in a bit then._

“Sure thing. See you later.”

_Oh bring me some pie. I would hate to raid Angie’s stash. You know she’ll get pissed._

Sam couldn’t resist the eye roll. Only Dean would think about food at a time like this. Then again Dean was like a garbage disposal with legs and would eat just about anything. Well anything that wasn’t considered rabbit food or anything remotely healthy. “Stay out of her stuff. I bet she booby trapped it.”

_Just bring me some pie._

Sam listened to the phone click and pocketed his cell phone. He looked at Bobby who said, “Well I guess we should be going. She ain’t gonna find herself.”

Sam gave a slight nod and went to thank Natalia for her help. She said, “I’m glad you’re still in town. I get the feeling that whatever is happening, you, your brother and your friend will be able to stop it.”

Sam thought about what he was going to say. He replied, “We’ll do what we can… I think.” He wasn’t even sure what they were up against and here was someone who knew that there was something wrong and wishing him luck. He put his hand in his pocket and his fingers brushed against the wooden animal that the kid had given him earlier. He pulled it out and handed it Natalia, “Oh your kid handed me this. I think he wanted to play.”

Natalia looked at the toy. She recognized this toy. Old Mad Johnson made it when Jerry was a year old. It was her son’s favorite. She ran her fingers over the wooden grooves and gave a slight smile and a nod. Nana would say that it would come handy in the future. She handed it back, “I think Jerry wanted to be your friend. Hold onto it.” At the look Sam gave her she said, “At least until you and your friends finish and leave.”

Sam frowned as he took back the toy. He was used to the strange and freaky stuff. It was what he and Dean did but when it came to stuff like this, he was at a loss. The only thing he could say was, “Um okay. Thanks.”

Natalia gave a slight chuckle and replied, “Just humor me Sam.”

Sam pocketed the toy without another word. He glanced to find that he was being stared at by the old woman. He looked at Natalia and said, “Well I guess I better get going. Thanks again.” He turned to leave and stopped by the old woman to thank her. Her response was to hand him his jacket and send him on his way with a warning to keep an eye out for courage.

Once outside Sam turned to Bobby to find him walking to his car, if it could be called that, and started to follow him. He stopped when he noticed Austin getting ready to head out on a horse. He remembered through the haze while passed out he heard a whinny and a nose in his face. He walked over to the horse.

“Sam?” Bobby looked over to find Sam walking over to the horse and the other boy who didn’t say much. He shook his head and muttered, “First he wants to leave and now he lingers. Idjit.”

Sam approached Austin while looking at the horse. An idea came to him since he was probably going to be grilled by both Dean and Bobby for a while. He said, “You said you would offer your help. Does that offer still stand?”

Austin looked at Sam with a look before tying down the last of the stuff in the saddle bag. He replied, “You helped me by finding the girl and I helped you at the warehouse. I would say that we’re even.”

Sam made a slight face while trying to figure out a way to convince this guy to help. He then said, “I need your help.”

“Seems to me you got plenty of friends helping you.”

“And one of them is in trouble.”

Austin grabbed the leading rein and started to turn the horse around to head back to the ranch. He had ears and he overheard the phone conversation. He knew that she was missing for sure but what was he to do about that? She would want him to help the Winchesters and he would do it. His old prejudices were right now clouding his judgment. He said nothing though. He wanted Sam to ask for it. He knew the Winchesters were famous for being stubborn asses. He continued to walk in silence aware that Sam was keeping up pretty easily. It was rude to make the kid work for this but hell he wasn’t one to perform charity.

Sam for his part was wondering why this guy was being a douche. He walked with him a ways but when Austin continued to give the silent treatment, he took action. Aware that it was probably a bad idea since Austin was one of those Centurion guys that Angela mentioned and knew, he grasped Austin’s arm and replied, “She’s a friend of mine and I think one of yours.”

Austin looked at the offending hand for a moment. He then looked at Sam and asked, “What makes you think she is a friend of mine?”

Sam held his ground. “You were the one who said she was a mutual friend. Are you telling me that was a lie?”

Austin felt his eyes flicker under his glasses. He replied, “It depends on the definition of friendship, human.”

“Maybe so… vampire.”

Austin backed up a bit obviously impressed that Sam was able to guess that as much. He gave a wry grin, “I see you’ve figured out what I am. I’m not sure if I should ask if you are scared or not but…” Austin made a quick motion. Funny thing about vampires was that their scent lingered much longer than other creatures. Austin was curious at how Sam could have guessed and moved to take a quick sniff. “You’ve tangled with them before.”

“Yes. Dead man’s blood seems to work pretty well on immobilizing them. To kill them you cut off their heads.” Sam knew he was giving away secrets but he was willing to take what he could get to gain this vamp’s cooperation. “Though I think you’re not like the ones Dean and I hunted before.”

Austin nodded in approval. Even though the stench of demon blood was appalling to his senses, he had to admit that he liked this one. “A plus on all accounts, Sam. And you’re right. I do know her from way back.”

“Then you’ll help find her?”

“You have an interesting concept of loyalty that you uphold,” Austin replied in amused tones. “It means much more to you than it would between folks that virtually live for eternity.” He patted the horse’s neck gently when it rumbled as if to reproach him for teasing Sam. “Still your request is not unreasonable. I can help but it is limited. I am here on another matter but if you need a hint, just look for me at Old Mad Johnson’s ranch. Now excuse me, I have to get this rogue back to his sibling.”

“I saw her in a cabin somewhere and it looked abandoned,” Sam shot out. “Maybe you might find something.”

Austin looked back, “Maybe I will.” He then turned and led the horse towards the edge of town. Nothing more was needed to be said. He found it odd that this human was putting extreme trust in his capabilities. Maybe the human was too trusting.

Sam watched Austin leave with the horse before heading to where Bobby was waiting and got in on the passenger side, folding his tall frame into the seat. Bobby got in beside him and said, “Darn near left ya. What was that about?”

Sam glanced at Bobby and replied, “Just someone who can help.” When Bobby didn’t put the car in gear, Sam knew that they were going to sit there until he gave a satisfactory answer. Giving a slight sigh, he added, “He’s a friend of Angie’s. He’s a vampire.”

Bobby started the engine “Now I know ya went crazy boy.” He switched gears and took off. “You’re supposed to be hunting those things not making friends with them and not because Angie is friends with them.”

Sam didn’t say anything but let Bobby chew him out. It was something the grizzled hunter had been wanting to do since he found him at Natalia’s store. So he sat listening to Bobby tell him what an idiot he was while giving directions back to the motel. It was a miracle that he actually remembered about the pie for once and pointed where Bobby was to stop. Even then Bobby wouldn’t stop grumbling and actually followed Sam into the mart, with every intent on watching him. It was going to be a long day.

****

“Glad to see that you finally remembered the pie.”

Sam watched as his brother snatched the box out of his hands and went to go open it. Dean didn’t even acknowledge that Bobby was standing right there next to him. Dean always remembered to say hello to the older hunter. He gave a slight frown as he glanced at Bobby. The grizzled hunter said, “Well it’s nice to see ya too, princess.”

Dean looked back and finally saw Bobby and said, “Nice to see ya too Bobby. So you came because Samantha here had a headache?”

“I called Bobby because I thought we could use some help and maybe a fresh to look and see where the trail went cold with Angie,” Sam interjected to explain. Normally he would tell his brother the truth but something was definitely off and he couldn’t help but remember that warning Austin gave him when he saved him from the mental trap in that warehouse. He trusted his instincts on this and he hoped that Bobby would follow his lead on this.

“Well with all the crap ya two idjits been stirring up around here, someone who hasn’t been affected might be able to find something ya missed,” Bobby added, picking up on Sam’s lead. He didn’t quite get where Sam was going with this but even he had to admit that Dean was not the Dean he knew.

“The more the merrier,” Dean replied. “Listen, I checked out those places where the incidents happened just to see if anything freaky was happening.”

“What did ya find?”

“Absolutely bupkiss,” Dean replied as he looked for a fork in the bag. He turned towards Sam and said, “Dude, you get the pie but forget the forks? What am I supposed to do, eat it with my bare hands?”

Sam shrugged his shoulders. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another when it came to Dean and pie. He replied, “Why not? You were about ready to tackle me for it before I even got in through the door.” He gave a slight frown when he noticed some expression flit across his brother’s face but it was quickly gone. He wasn’t going to say anything but maybe Bobby caught it and they could talk about it later. “It’s not like you have good table manners anyway Dean.”

Whatever expression had crossed Dean’s face was instantly gone as he gave a shrug of his shoulders. “Hey what better way to show my appreciation for good food?” He couldn’t help himself as he ran a finger along the whipped cream topping and took a dab. Maybe later he could indulge without having Samantha grumble about his manners. “So you manage to find the nagging mom while you were out?”

Bobby listened to the exchange between the brothers. While on the surface it seemed like normal brotherly banter, Bobby could sense that it was not held within the same family affection they always shared. It surprised him that Dean would refer to Angela the way he did with a seemingly callous attitude. Normally the name calling was in good humor but this sounded like he was pissed at her for some reason. Strange enough though, it wasn’t the volatile reaction that would be expected of Dean.

“I back tracked to where we split up but everyone says that she was heading for here, the motel,” Sam replied. “Maybe someone jumped her along the way.”

Meanwhile, Dean found his small hunting knife and started using it to cut a slice of pie. He lifted it to his hand and examined it with the look of a connoisseur. He was in the middle of dabbing his finger in the whipped cream when Sam spoke. He replied, “Or she decided to make a pit stop somewhere and didn’t say anything. Maybe she caught a date. Hell she could use one. Might loosen the stick up her ass a little.”

Sam glanced at Bobby who was equally shocked at Dean’s assertion of Angela. The way Dean was making it sound was like she was being a douche or something. Sam was puzzled at what to say to that so Bobby took over. “You two got in a tiff or something?”

Dean had taken a bite and it was evident by the bulging cheeks. He took a small swallow but his mouth was still full of food. “She hit my baby and kicked me.”

Sam rolled his eyes. Was Dean being serious? Was he still holding a grudge over that? Sam could only surmise that Dean was probably still on whatever that demon did to him. This was ridiculous and alarming. “Dude, seriously, she didn’t hurt the car and it was your own fault you decided to poke the giant with a stick.”

“And you take her side as always,” Dean replied. He finally managed to swallow the bite that he had taken and was in line to take another one. “You trying to be like her? A bloodsucker?”

Sam held his temper in check. “That was uncalled for Dean. You know she isn’t like that. It’s like you’re finding excuses to be mad at her.”

“So what if I am? I was following your lead in letting her come along. You know she ain’t human.” Dean chomped on his second bite. It was somewhat of a miracle that bits of food didn’t come flying out.

“And you’ve been flirting with her every chance you get,” Sam pointed out. This argument was going to be pointless if he kept it up. Dean was being unreasonable as he was when they pulled into town at the start of this. It was also a bit embarrassing since they were arguing in front of Bobby. It was like being caught with the broken lamp in the middle of the room. He looked towards the elder hunter to gauge his reaction.

Bobby had watched the scene unfold. It was like a typical argument between the two boys but he could see that Sam wasn’t making this up. Now he may not know Angela well as they did but Bobby had time to form some definite opinions about her and based upon the behavior he had seen between the brothers and her, this wasn’t Dean.

“Just being nice since you wanted her along.”

Bobby intervened, “Alright ya idjits shut up.”

Sam kept his reaction to a minimum while he focused on Dean. Dean looked stunned that Bobby deigned to yell at him like that. If it had been any other time, it would have been funny. Hell Sam would have pulled out his camera phone and would have taken a picture. Angela would have too. Right now was not the time. He wisely kept silent. Dean was not that wise.

“Bobby, I’m just trying to put some sense into Sammy.”

Bobby frowned at Dean which clearly said that the younger hunter was being stupid. “All I see is you making pointless accusations over crap. You’re basically being an idjit.”

Dean wasn’t about to give up however. He replied, “Bobby, you haven’t traveled with the harpy like Sam and me. She’s…”

“Basically a good person. I could see that the last time you were at my place.” Bobby paused a moment to assess the situation before replying. “Son you’re making baseless accusations. You’re not yourself.”

Dean narrowed his eyes in annoyance. “I’m fine Bobby.” His pie was forgotten now as he put the slice he had been munching on down. He didn’t care if he made a mess or not.  “Seems to me you’re the one that’s not fine. Taking her side too?”

“Calm down Dean.” Bobby tried to appeal to any rational part of Dean’s mind. This could escalate out of control if Dean got it into his head that he was being betrayed. He would hate to take extreme measures on this.

“Don’t tell me to calm done because I’m fine.”

Sam finally interjected, “Dean, it’s not about taking sides. Something is not right with you. I think it has something to do with that demon we supposedly took out. He did something to you and I think maybe it hasn’t had time to wear off.” He pleaded silently with Dean to at least listen to what he and Bobby had to say.

“Well thanks for the obvious,” Dean replied sarcastically. He was about to say something else when something happened. Whatever anger and annoyance he was feeling, it was gone. He frowned in puzzlement. He had no idea why he was yelling at Bobby and Sam. Still frowning he ventured, “Sam?”

Sam saw the change in Dean’s face. It went from angry and irrational to the brother he knew. He wasn’t sure if he should believe it or not. He glanced over at Bobby and could tell that he was probably thinking the same thing. Sam knew that he had to say something in order to test the waters so to speak. He replied, “I’m here Dean. Are you okay?”

Dean put a hand on his forehead trying to figure out what just happened and why he had said things he didn’t mean. He looked at his brother and finally noticed Bobby and frowned. “What are you doing here Bobby?”

Bobby replied while trying to hide his suspicions, “Sam called saying you guys needed help with your demon problem.”

“Oh yeah that. Sam thinks that we didn’t gank the bastard that was messing with this town,” Dean recalled. “He also said that Angie was missing? She probably went for a walk.” He looked around and saw the pie on the table. His slice was still sitting there waiting to be eaten. Dean got one of his happy grins and said, “Ooo pie.” He immediately picked up the slice and started munching on it.

Sam was frowning at what he was witnessing. He had no idea if he was going insane or it was his imagination. He glanced over at Bobby who was looking at his brother with a similar expression. Sam replied, “Dude you asked me to bring some when I called.”

“Glad you remembered for once in your life Sam,” Dean replied, his mouth full of pie. This thing was like heaven. The last time he had any pie, it was a fifty cent whore from one of those gas station mini marts. A homemade prime escort was a rare treat and it looked like his brother delivered. There may be hope for him yet. When Dean finished digging in, he continued the conversation as if he had never been interrupted, “So Angie steps out and you think that there is still something in this town even though I saw you ram a sword up his ass?” He had another bite of pie in his mouth and was chewing it, his cheeks bulging slightly.

“Dean she hasn’t been seen since we split up on the way back into town. She was going to buy a pie,” Sam explained quietly. The repetition was getting annoying but then again that may be the clue in regards to Dean’s change in behavior. “You said you didn’t find anything at the places where those people were killed. What did you find?”

Dean thought about it for a moment. He swallowed the bite and replied, “Nothing really. Folks saying that they were pissed at their neighbors for no reason were now the best of friends again. Now I say that’s normal.”

Sam glanced at Bobby and gave a shrug of his shoulders. Still Sam’s instincts were telling him to be careful. He may have his brother back but he got the feeling that this was far from over. He put his hands in his jacket pocket and felt something that he hadn’t put there before. He looked up to find that Bobby was talking to Dean and quizzing him on the demon and the like so their attention was drawn elsewhere. He mumbled something about using the bathroom and went in without another word.

Once inside the bathroom, he pulled the thing out of his jacket and inspected it. It turned out to be a small pouch about the size of a small purse. It was leather but it looked old and weather beaten, as if it had been used many times before. The flap was tied shut with a leather thong which looked newer than the rest of the thing. Peering at it, Sam thought he detected the scent of herbs in it and opened the flap carefully and looked inside. He was immediately bombarded with the scent of some herb, possibly two, that he wasn’t familiar with. He recalled that the old woman had handed him his jacket. Perhaps she was the one that put it in his pocket.

His first instinct was to throw it away or burn it like he would a hex bag but he hesitated. This wasn’t a hex bag in the normal sense and even if he did think that the old woman was trying to poison him with that nasty tea, he knew that they meant no harm. In fact all the old woman ever did was try to help him from the beginning. He folded the pouch back up and put it back in his jacket. There would be time to find out what was in it later.


	9. Chapter 9

“Okay, so tell me why we’re out here in the middle of nowhere while Sam is back playing CSI with a bunch of weeds?” Dean scanned the landscape with a slightly bored and annoyed expression. All he could see was rocks and brush and nothing that would be of interest to anyone.

Bobby was walking a few paces behind Dean watching for any signs of his previous behavior. So far, Dean was acting like Dean should. The irrational anger was gone for the moment and it looked like they would be able to figure this out without any problems. Right now they were conducting a search or the surrounding area around town. Sam mentioned that he saw a cabin or some old building in his vision and he figured that was where Angela was being held. Bobby agreed to go out with Dean while Sam did research on some plants that he found tucked in his jacket and look around for more clues.

The real reason Bobby knew was that Sam wanted to investigate a few things without Dean knowing. Bobby insisted that keeping secrets wasn’t going to do anybody any good. Yet for once he was willing to go along with this since he too had some doubts about Dean. He replied, “Because Sam mentioned a cabin or something out here.”

“Then why isn’t he here Bobby? He saw it. Wouldn’t make much more sense for him to be out here?” Dean was clearly puzzled by the decision in all this.

Bobby thought fast and tried to come up with something that wouldn’t arouse too many suspicions. He replied, “Sam wanted to check on a few other things that he may have seen. It might help in finding this place or if it was that demon. He has the memory of it so it makes sense that he would look it up.”

Dean gave a slight shrug of his shoulders in acceptance of that explanation. That made sense. Sam always was a stickler for little details especially when the profiles of some of the things they hunted seem to run together. Sam was always the one to find that one piece that was different and give Dean the means to take the thing out. That was how they rolled and heck Angie got that though the last few times they relied on her to find the missing piece since she knew things that they didn’t even know. Maybe that was why Sam never wasted a moment to spend time with her. Picking her brain as the phrase went and here Dean thought Sam was showing interest. The sly dog. Dean grinned as he climbed up a rock formation to scan the landscape. “That’s Sam for ya. He always was a stickler for details and the geeky college boy.”

“He’s good at it,” Bobby admitted.

“It used to drive Dad crazy when Sam would ask for details on a specific hunt. Dad thought Sam was doing it on purpose until that one time when Sammy actually figured out that it thing was actually a wendigo and not a werewolf.” Dean scanned the horizon again, searching for something. “Well I don’t see anything. Any other area matching Sam’s general description?”

Bobby listened to Dean reminisce about when he and Sam were boys. Normally Dean wasn’t one to engage in sharing moments but occasionally they did pop up. It seemed to be another sign that Dean was returning to normal so to speak. He replied to Dean’s inquiry, “I have no idea. Maybe we could check at the gas station for anything on local lore.”

“We probably should’ve done it in the first place but hey, live and learn,” Dean replied as he jumped down. He paused when he thought he saw something behind some boulders. He went to take a look to see what it was and left Bobby trailing behind.

“Dean? Idjit,” Bobby muttered as he tried to catch up to the hunter running a freaking marathon. Maybe this was a bad idea. They did have guns and holy water just in case there was something out there but this was not being a profitable excursion. He managed to catch up to Dean who was looking around the huge boulder that he ran behind and asked, “Are ya outta your mind boy?”

“Thought I saw something Bobby,” Dean explained as he peered at the rock. Thanks to Sam, Dean knew what belonged and didn’t belong when it came to distinguishing rocks from other stuff. He found some stuff that looked suspicious and ran his thumb along the seam.

It was discolored but it looked like it could have blended in with the surrounding dirt and could have been easily missed if Dean didn’t examine the area with a fine tooth comb. Looking at it, he could tell that it wasn’t the typical look of sulfur but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t. The powder came off on his thumb and Dean looked at it curiously. “Hey Bobby, you got a plastic bag or something?”

“What for?”

Dean pulled out his personal penknife and clicked it open. “I think we may have our answer to what Sam is talking about. Seriously do you have a container? Something?”

“What do I look like a Wal-Mart?” It was pure reaction for Bobby as he knelt to look at what Dean was examining. To him it looked like regular dirt but Dean was saying it was different. Well he might as well humor the kid. He searched his pockets and it was just his luck that he had a clear plastic bag in his pants pocket. He fished it out and handed it to Dean.

Dean took it saying, “Thanks. Just the thing for CSI Sammy to play with.” He scraped a bit of the dust off the rock and into the bag. When he had a sufficient sample, he rolled up the end of the bag and tucked it into his jacket pocket. Flipping his knife shut he stood up looking pleased. Glancing at Bobby he said, “Well at least we found something right?”

Bobby nodded. He still wasn’t sure what Dean had been looking at but he was willing to go along with it. He replied, “Right. Well I guess we should head back and ask around about a cabin in the middle of nowhere.”

Dean grinned, “My kind of thinking.”

****

Sam looked around the room from the door trying to see if he missed something. It was virtually the same as he had left it when he went through it the first time. The things that had been overturned were still there where they fell and wherever she put her things, they were still there. _What did I miss?_

Sam started a slow walk through examining everything to put into perspective a timeline of events. He could just hear Dean right now teasing him about being a science nerd or something related to CSI. Sam couldn’t help it. He had always been one to look at the details for the one thing that set whatever it was apart from the rest. Over time Dean came to appreciate that whenever they got stuck but he still teased him about it. It did come handy when Sam was studying in pre-law at Stanford. Maybe it would help in finding her and getting to the bottom of this

Judging from the placement of the plastic bag, Angela just got in and was probably still talking to Bobby on the phone. The crap ass coffeemaker carafe was full of water so that meant she was heating up water for tea. So she would have been in the middle of doing something like… getting ready for a shower and change of clothes.

Sam found them in the bathroom. The door and all the entrances were lined with salt and the sigils she drew with that black light pen or whatever the heck it was. It was obvious that a human could have done it. He wondered if it was like those hunters that she beat up one time claiming that they were nothing but renegades. They were human and they would know how to pick locks and they were most likely waiting for her. They would have sprung the attack when they were sure that no one was listening to help her. It was a reasonable conclusion. Sam’s eyes then lighted upon the bag she carried her own weapons in.

_“Hey Sam, I just want to say a few words to Natalia. Do you mind taking Absolution back to the motel?” Angela then handed him the spare key._

_Sam didn’t mind. He added, “No problem. I can take your knife… maybe clean it for you.”_

_“Thanks.”_

Sam remembered that request. He took them both back to the room and actually cleaned them while Dean was doing his shower and virtually pampering himself. He cleaned Absolution first and he brought it back to her room and… Sam walked over to the bag and unfurled it vaguely remembering the comment about her being the female version of Rick O’Connell. He looked over her sawed off shotgun, a Winchester rifle (no pun intended), a sniper rifle (and why would she need that?), various handguns, ammunition, short sword and dagger. He came to the place where he knew he placed Absolution. It was empty.

Sam tried not to panic since he was well aware that Absolution was supposed to be able to kill anything supernatural. It was similar to the Orion blade which was still hidden in that nook near his bed. Nothing else was touched on the weapons bag. They were all neatly tied and looked well cared for. Sam knew that was not the full extent of her arsenal since she once mentioned having a warehouse where she kept some heavy duty stuff. What worried him was that Absolution had been taken and could be used against her.

He looked around to see if anything else was amiss and noticed that one of her books had fallen face down and open. He could see that some of the pages were starting to bend and quickly picked it up. Looking at it, Sam realized that it was her journal. He remembered reading parts of it before when she had been jumped at the start of this. She never did explain what had happened and Sam wondered if her kidnapping had anything to do with it.

The entry that had fallen open was the entry that he read about her being there when Dad made the deal with the demon. He never finished reading it and wondered if he should take the time to finish it. It didn’t see, like the right time to do such a thing but then again there was the possibility that it could be related. Angela did say that Lenya would probably have worked with the yellow eyed demon. It was a long shot, but maybe he could take the time to read it over and see for himself. He righted the chair and sat in it, placing the journal on the table. He skipped to where his Dad made her promise. That seemed to be a good starting point. He could always go back if he wanted.

_… J. summoned me to his room. Waited until S. left after visiting D. Had a plan to help D. Just needed a few things._

_J. told me to forget it. He told me he found out something big but wouldn’t tell me. Instead he told me that he had a job for me. He had me swear it upon the lady’s name. Curses that I showed him that. He wouldn’t tell me until I swore. He had the gall to remind me of my personal promise to watch over Mary and her family but I had to give him kudos for that._

_I never met J. until the day we saved each other from the same damn thing we were hunting. Since then we’ve respected each other and I gave even when he didn’t ask. Y.E. took a lot from them and it was my fault. I half expected J. to kill me when I told him eventually how I knew Y.E. Hell I would since it’s not every day you find out that the man next to you in battle started the whole shebang by setting the enemy free… even if it was an accident. He didn’t though. I guess he thought redemption would come by making me swear the oath._

_I swore upon the name of the Lady and to J. that I would watch them as I had been doing all their lives when I could. As soon as I did, it was like a burden was lifted off of J. I think it gave him courage for what he wanted to do. Maybe he wanted me to have redemption. J. loved keeping me in the dark but then again I did the same._

_He wanted me to help him summon Y.E. and make a deal. I told him that it was stupid and that dealing with demons is not the way to go… ever. I even went so far as to tell J. that S. would see it as a macho showdown and no one would be listening. J. then told me he knew about my… natural talent. I saw then and there why he wanted me to help him. He also mentioned what I did for the boys when they were kids and how it wasn’t typical mojo. I was pissed. But I gave my word._

_I summoned Y.E. as promised. Brokered conditions: Colt for D. Wouldn’t take it. J. did something stupid. Y.E. said that J. had to sweeten the pot. I knew what that meant. I thought I could make amends that way but J. stopped me. He offered himself and the Colt for D._

_Y.E. accepted it. He looked at me with that smile he always gave me when he knew that I was powerless to prevent things from happening. It was the same one he gave me when I failed the first time to send him back to the pit or kill him. He even told me that this time was not the time for me to carry out my vendetta. In the end the deal was struck and accepted and I was the witness. I hate those kinds of deals._

_Later J. told me that he was finally going to tell D. everything he found out about Y.E.’s plan. I told him that it was too much to dump on D. all at once. J. told me that it to protect both boys. He also implied that I wouldn’t tell them everything. He’s right… I wouldn’t. Not all at once but with the Winchesters it is probably best to do it that way. I told J. not to be clumsy with his words._

Sam looked up from what he was reading to think for a moment. When he first read the various paragraphs of this entry, he felt sympathetic. He didn’t blame her for thinking that John Winchester’s decision to offer his life for Dean’s was her doing. At least she was honest. She didn’t tell them about Yellow Eyes unless she was sure that they were ready to hear it. He could see how things could be taken the wrong way.

_And of course this is a test for another one of my favorites._

Sam frowned as he remembered that particular line from his nightmare before they arrived in Hudson. Was it possible that the thing at the warehouse was just the beginning? Was she the other ‘favorite’? It didn’t make sense since she wasn’t like the others. He looked back down and for no reason, he finished the entry.

_… I watched from my post as J. spoke to D. He never learned that I can hear whispers too. Then again maybe he wanted me to hear what he said to D. What came out of that man’s mouth pissed me off royally. How could he dump such a burden on his son? The pathetic thing is that I understand that burden too having had to… live through that in another lifetime. Now I have to live with knowing as well and I dread the day that I have to reveal that because that will be the day when I believe I will become the enemy of the very people that I swore to protect. That will be the day when all my secrets will be told and they will not be taken in a kind way._

Sam looked up and almost closed the journal. So she knew all along about what Dad told Dean. It wasn’t really that surprising since he and Dean learned firsthand how well her hearing was but just the fact that she never mentioned it when they hooked up, it hurt just a little. But then he never pushed and neither did she with either of them when they talked. He really couldn’t be angry but he could see how her own words could be used against her. Maybe that was Yellow Eyes’ plan.

Sam knew that she had given her permission for him to read her journal and her books. Perhaps there were answers within them. If Yellow Eyes was involved, then who better to give hints to solving this than her own words? Sam pulled the journal towards him and flipped back to earlier entries. If anything he was good at hitting the books. He would find what he needed to know.

****

The view was excellent to watch everything unfold as it should. Well almost as it should. It was completely unexpected when contact was lost with the hunter. When the hunter and the old man left, he went to inspect the room. Something happened while the hunter was in there.

The room was typical of the brothers. One side was nice and tidy while the other was neat but had a few mussed areas. Opposites and yet they worked quite well together. Occasionally there were disputes over stupid stuff that was eventually forgotten. The past couple of days though proved to be most entertaining and provided a wealth of information.

The room had the typical smells. All the smells that made them human. Wait, there was something else in there. A search revealed a blade hidden on the neat and tidy side. It was one of those accursed blades. Just the sheer sight of it was enough to repel his kind. It was worse than that blade she carried. The stupid hunter had the nerve to bring it with her. Then again, it might prove useful if he could find what went wrong.

The scent then hit him. At his feet was a loose sprig. He knelt to take a look but not touch. It couldn’t be. The blasted old woman had interfered yet again. First the store was like a bug repellant with all the herbs and the talismans hanging about. Now the herbs for that particular ritual? He cursed under her breath, “White sage.”

There was another smell that he picked up. It was difficult to make out but if he had to venture a guess, it was juniper. Two plants that were used to purify areas and persons of dark influences with the white or desert sage being the popular choice.  Juniper was a close second. By putting them together in a satchel it allowed for protection and cleansing of the person that the satchel was on. It must have been strong enough to cleanse the hunter when the carrier was in close proximity. If he had to guess, it was the younger brother that carried it. The old hunter might have had something too. Either way, a reapplication was going to be needed and this time it needed to be stronger. It wouldn’t hurt to keep the hunter away either.

He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. He took a breath as he waited for the boss to pick up. He started out of the room, leaving things where he found it. There was no need for the brothers to be suspicious of everything or anything yet. Besides there were serious consequences if he gathered their attention too soon. He heard the click of the other end. He said, “It’s me. We have a slight problem.”

_No shit you moron. I lose contact and I sent you to find out. What the hell is going on?_

“I went to their room to investigate.”

_And?_

He took a breath. The boss went to a lot of trouble to bring him back where he had been sent by that bitch. He hoped that he wouldn’t be sent back. He replied, “I found traces of white sage and I could smell the hint of juniper. I believe it was the old woman.”

_Bitch. How bad is the damage?_

“A reapplication is necessary but a stronger one. Maybe double?”

_You idiot. Double application of the same would just produce the same results. Lucky for you I have a more concentrated version._

“Is it to be the same method?”

_Is he alone?_

“Well he took off with another hunter. An older one and probably smells like a bar. Has one of those redneck looks.”

_Then be creative about it. Don’t bother calling until you are sure he has been infected._

“Yes boss.”

_Then I leave you to handle everything._

The phone clicked dead and he was left to take care of business. He looked around and spotted people walking about doing their business. He started in the direction that he had seen the hunter and his friend take off in. If he could take a guess, he would say that the hunters were heading towards the outskirts of town. Perhaps the hunter remembered where he had been meeting the boss and their guests? Maybe not. The boss always made sure that there was a failsafe in case something went wrong. He focused and searched the most likely places and that was after picking up what he needed to complete his mission.

He found them outside town searching the rocks and dirt for something. Well at least there was no one else that was watching except the old man. It seemed like the two were close, like maybe an uncle/ nephew relationship. That could be used to an advantage if the younger one tried to thwart the boss’ plans.

Something tickled his meat and he slapped at it. A fly. He wondered how the pathetic meat suits managed to survive in a place that allowed these pests to be alive. Then again it was fun to watch the meat suits be tormented by these little pests. Even the methods they took to get rid of them were amusing. He continued watch the pair searching for whatever they were looking for. A slight screech startled him.

Turning around, he saw a bird sitting on a rock watching him. It was one of those birds of prey… an eagle. It sat there just watching him with a look. It bothered him; like the damn thing could see into his soul or at least knew what he was up to. He moved to the left and the gaze of the eagle followed him. He moved to the right and it followed him again. What in hell was he supposed to do about it?

He looked to see the two hunters walking and talking. It was going to be difficult to isolate the one he was supposed to get. He then looked at the boulder her was standing behind and then glanced at the eagle that was giving him a narrow eye look. He could swear that it was daring him to try something. It was like it was ready to attack him, knowing that he was up to something. He then had an idea. Maybe he could draw the hunter towards him.

He turned towards the eagle who raised its wings ready to swoop at him. He growled, “I don’t know what you’re doing here but you are being a pain in the ass.”

The eagle flapped its wings like it was going to attack. He interpreted it as a threat. It also made a slight sound as if to warn him away. The predatory look turned dangerous.

He wasn’t going to waste time. He lunged at the bird who jumped in the air as it flapped his wings and its talons were out. It swooped towards him and lashed out. He batted at the thing not sure how to deal with it but the thing could give him away. It was as if it came to thwart his efforts. He wasn’t about to let that happen. He felt his eyes change as they would to show his true nature and he launched himself at the bird.

It took some time but he managed to grab the bird and throw it aside. It gave a pathetic chirp as it tried to right itself. He grinned in satisfaction.

_Dean? Idjit._

Shit! The hunter was coming over. He looked around and then had an idea. Taking the stuff out of his pocket, he crouched near the boulder. He found a large crack that he could wedge it in. Taking it out, he packed the crack, making sure that it would stand out if someone looked for it. He was sure the hunter would since he was younger and he probably saw him wrestling with the damn bird. Making sure it was set, he stood up and started backing away. He could hear footsteps. He ran behind another boulder and disappeared.

He watched as the hunter looked down at the crack he filled. The hunter touched it with his thumb. That was just what he needed. It was only a matter of time. Hopefully the cleansing crap won’t be strong enough. Either way, the hunter had it in his system. They might get lucky and he would inhale it. He would just have to follow and watch. He looked over at the bird who managed to right itself and he gave it a good kick.


	10. Chapter 10

Austin was glad to be getting back to the ranch with the colt but what left him unsettled was the fact that with two special cases in town, it could spell trouble. At least Sam could take care of himself and the girl Natalia seemed to be knowledgeable and she had her grandmother. What was really bothering Austin was the fact that Angela was missing and to top it off Sam was insisting that he keep an eye out for abandoned cabins or something like that. The first thought was that Sam was a part of her kidnapping but then he discounted that since the boy was honest in his own confusion and determination to find her. Then there was the request itself.

Austin thought it a little foolish for Sam to trust him so much with finding any clues to her disappearance. Then again maybe the reasoning was as simple as the fact that she was a friend to both of them. Austin gave a slight smile since she and Chris always told him that he tended to overthink things at times. He might be doing that right now but then again it was Angela.

He remembered the first time they met. It was the height of the American Revolution and he was more or less taking a stroll through a battlefield. He was dressed in the typical wear of the time and he carried a rifle. Anyone could have mistaken him for a militiaman and occasionally he did take a shot at a British soldier to keep up appearances. It was there that he saw her wielding a British saber as she marched with the South Carolina militia.

How she managed to convince the commander to let her march with the militia was a mystery. He knew that she wasn’t the type to use seduction as currency and he never did find out. He did however remember how they met. She almost killed him and that was when he discovered that she was a hunter.

They came face to face on the battlefield. She raised her musket and pointed it at him. He didn’t know she was a female since her hair was tucked up in one of the men’s hats and she did have that gleam that spoke of the kill in her eyes. It was when she spoke that he realized that she was a hunter. She called him ‘vampire.’ His reaction was to start to fight and it was not with guns.

She shot and he dodged. Her reaction was to charge wielding her blade. He was able to disarm her but she countered with hand to hand combat. They collided and he was able to yank her hat off to reveal her length of hair and it was then he noticed her eyes. The glow typical of vampires and Halflings alike was evident in her eyes and it stunned him. Once she locked him against a tree, she gave a sniff and backed off. She told him to get lost or help hunt down the ones being drawn to the carnage. That had been the most memorable experience Austin had.

They didn’t meet again until Prohibition and of all places… Chicago. He had finished a job hunting down a human who had been contaminated by demon blood and disposed of him. It was there that he discovered that she was tracking a demon and a powerful one from the looks of it and the reason for the humans with the demon blood. He stumbled onto it when he happened to meet her in the same theatre she was in. He came just to watch the latest picture film and he spotted her… well caught a whiff of her scent.

He followed it to the backstage area where he found her restrained and was about to be killed by some guy. Austin acted first and sprang forward to help her out. It was then that he saw the eyes flicker yellow. It startled him since he had only seen the black eyed hell bitches. This was new to him and the distraction gave her the opportunity for her break free and spring after the demon.

The demon escaped and Austin thought she was going to kick his ass for letting it happen. Instead she gave him a once over and then pulled out a scrap of paper. She handed it to him and told him to go there. As it turned out it led to the academy and by extension the Centurion. Now he was one of the top ‘agents’ of the order and a popular teacher of the students. He owed her a debt for that but she said to forget it and it turned into a friendship. Yet to Austin, he still owed her quite a debt.

Now she was missing. It seemed like as good a time as any to start to repay it. He would help Sam. Even though the stench of the blood was strong on him, he did like him. He saw a good person at heart and it was clear that he looked up to his older brother. He figured that was part of the reason she decided to travel with them. He would look into the cabin up here in these parts. Maybe the old man might know something about it.

It was then that Child of the Water gave a slight tug and whinny. Austin looked up and asked, “What is it boy? You find another special case that I didn’t know about?” He gave a wry smile and patted the horse’s neck.

The horse tugged on his lead in a particular direction. Austin looked out in that direction. It led out to the middle of nowhere. Then again the ranch was in the middle of nowhere so that was hardly a moot point. He scanned hoping to see something. Even with his enhanced vision as a vampire, he still had limitations on how far that could go. It also was damped slightly by the fact that he still had some light sensitivity issues. Even after two hundred years he still had an issue with broad daylight and full sun. It was better than most vamps.

The horse tugged again in the direction he was looking in. After what happened earlier, he wasn’t about to doubt the horse. He got the feeling that the horse and his sibling were related to this case and he did overhear something about warrior brothers. He looked at the horse in the face and said, “Well, I learned my lesson the last time. If I give you a bit of a leash, don’t strangle me with it.”

The horse gave a nicker and another tug. Austin gave a slight nod and lengthened the lead rope. He gave a slight pat on the neck to let the horse know that he was given his head. “Go ahead. Lead the way Pup.”

The horse gave a nicker as if he took offense to the nickname that Austin gave him. Austin couldn’t help but chuckle. He said, “Get used to it Pup. Believe me you don’t want to know the name I have for your brother.”

Giving the horse a leash proved to be something of a mixed blessing. Austin wasn’t sure where they were going since it was away from the path to the ranch but he relied on the horse and what it was sensing. He asked, “Are we getting closer?”

His answer came in the form of a feeble squawk. The horse picked up the pace and made a beeline to the noise. It stopped when it reached the source and lowered its head to nuzzle something on the ground. It gave a reassuring rumble and it was answered with another feeble squawk.

Austin moved forward to see what he spent probably thirty minutes walking towards. He saw an eagle lying on the ground and from the looks of things was badly injured. He watched the horse give a gentle nuzzle to the bird. He was surprised the bird didn’t retaliate with its talons but it was like they knew each other and trusted each other.

The horse turned to look at him and Austin stepped forward to examine the eagle. The wings were badly mangled and he could make out some lacerations on the torso. Closer inspection revealed that the eagle was a female and she was beautiful. From the looks of things someone had grabbed her and wrestled her. She fought back since he found bits of blood on the talons. Austin leaned in closer to take a sniff and he was instantly repelled by the scent. Demon blood and full blooded. It stank to high heaven.

For some reason, Austin felt angry. He had no reason to be since it was an animal but then again he detested it when they were mistreated. And she was a pretty one. Austin had seen them in flight but never one up close. She didn’t try to attack him when he ran his hands over her feathers. The horse gave a nudge to his shoulder.

 _I must be crazy. Makes me wish the princess were here. She would understand this better than me._ Austin sighed. He may be able to help her with the physical injuries but the connection between the horse and her was something that would have to be explained. He would have to explain things to the old man.

Being as gentle as he could, he lifted the eagle up. He cringed when she made a sound of pain but he continued to tuck her under his arm. Wrapping the lead around his wrist he said, “Alright Pup, let’s get back to the old man.”

****

Natalia paused while she finished making the satchels as Nana instructed. Something had happened. She looked around the kitchen to see if anything was out of place. All she saw was Jerry playing with his car in his playpen and he was giggling. She frowned as she stepped away from her work to look around.

She made her way to the front of the store and peered out the glass door. Suddenly she saw one of those monsters in front of her. Well the demons as Sam referred to them. She jumped a little as it turned to look at her but it didn’t move. A noise caught her attention and she turned to see the direction that the demon had turned its head to.

It was a horse but it wasn’t like the one that led her to Sam. It was different. It whinnied and stomped its feet but in a more aggressive way. It was minding its own business as the demon started to move and a dark shadow began to emerge from it. Natalia blinked to make sure that she wasn’t hallucinating but the blink indicated that she was seeing something… possibly a vision.

Suddenly an eagle swooped down on the demon and they fought. It was startling since it was similar to the dream she had about the eagle fighting that other demon. Natalia watched as the pair struggled and it seemed an even match. That was until the demon grabbed the eagle and man handled it roughly. The wings were either broken or sprained from what Natalia could tell. She shuddered as the demon threw the eagle down and the shadow swooped over the horse. She couldn’t help and gasp when the demon turned and gave the eagle a hard kick to the delicate torso. The cry of pain was more than she could bear since it sounded like a hurt child almost and she shut her eyes. When she opened them, the image was gone.

The next sound she heard was the thumping of Nana’s cane on the ground. She turned to see her grandmother staring at her from the entrance to behind the counter. Her hands were on top of the cane and she stood there as if waiting for Natalia to speak. Natalia took a breath and slowly let it out as she returned the look.

“See something you did.”

It was more of a statement rather than a question and Natalia knew that Nana sensed something was off. She gave a slight nod as she caught her breath. She glanced back outside and found the street empty except for the occasional passerby. She looked back and replied, “I think I did Nana.”

The old woman gave a grunt of acknowledgment. She hobbled over to the counter and motioned for Natalia to come forward. “What did you see?”

Natalia started to explain what she had seen. When she had finished, the old woman said. “Courage reaches out even when she cannot. Protects them she does. Lucky they are to have someone like courage.”

Natalia understood who she was referring to… at least she thought she did. She was certain that courage was the eagle since she saw it when she came to rescue her. The ‘them’ she suspected were her companions. One she was certain was Sam. What struck her as interesting was the whole thing regarding the horse. Ever since Austin mentioned the name of the horse that caused the racket at the back of the store, she wondered if the sibling he talked about was the brother. It wouldn’t be that farfetched to conclude that the horses represented brothers and possibly Sam and his brother. That led to the thought about the warrior brothers. There were all sorts of stories and legends about them and supposedly the horse that they favored and started a special breed of horses. She wondered…

“Thinking of something you are,” Nana said. She had been watching her granddaughter and knew when she was in deep thought.

Natalia looked at her grandmother, “I was thinking about today and the horse Child of the Water. It’s the name of one of the warrior brothers and according to Austin, it made a beeline for Sam.” She paused to evaluate how her grandmother would take her theory. She knew that some of the elders of the tribe were strict about their own traditions but Nana had been schooled in the old ways as well. So maybe it was all right. She ventured, “I think the warrior brothers are trying to reach through to us. They may have succeeded with Sam and I see things but by their inner spirits. I know the demon marked me and I am sure that he marked Sam.”

Nana studied her granddaughter. For a long time she knew that the day would come when the veil would be lifted and she would no longer be able to shield the girl. It started when the demons came and placed their hold on the town. Now that courage had come and was in trouble, it was lifted even more. She nodded and replied, “The dark one has marked many but his purpose with courage is confusing.”

Natalia was confused even with that. Still there had to be a way to know. She then asked, “Couldn’t Old Mad Johnson help? The warrior brothers roam in the space between spaces where dreams exist. The old man knows the ways of walking those places.”

Nana nodded in agreement. When Sam had been brought in, she could tell that he had been in a dream walking state. It was unusual for someone to do that alone and without proper guidance. It was an idea to consider. She was about to answer when the bell to the door opened. In walked the old hunter from earlier and another younger one.

Natalia recognized them both and greeted them with the politeness she used on all customers. “Welcome. Is there something I can help you with?”

****

Sam sat at the table rubbing his eyes. He had flipped through Angela’s journal, skimming for any indication about the yellow eyed demon. Most of the entries spoke of giving clues of his lackeys to his dad and reports on his welfare at Stanford and on the solo hunts Dean did. They all mentioned something along the line of these lackeys knowing where he would strike next but nothing on what exactly those plans were. It was puzzling to Sam as he read them. The funny thing was Yellow Eyes wasn’t mentioned until after Angela had met his mother. It was almost as she didn’t meet the demon until then but judging from what he read about the exchanges between her and Dad, she must have known more than what she let on. _What are you hiding Angie? Are you protecting us from what the demon has planned?_

****

The reflection in the pool of water in the bowl rippled with images until they faded away. The viewer stood for the longest time after the images were gone, staring at the water. The mission as moving forward and soon the prisoners would be rescued.

“I don’t see why we have to make sure the humans fight this battle. We are more than capable brother.”

The viewer turned to look at his brother. There was a reason they called his brother Monster Slayer and part of it was due to his impulsive nature. His brother was said to be the best at slaying the monsters that plagued the mortals. Some stories spoke of both of them slaying the fiends and some spoke of him keeping the hearth going for his brother. His personal favorite involved when he and his brother went to the pit to retrieve their father’s remains by playing the ball game.

Gazing at his impulsive sibling, he replied, “You know the rules as well as I, Brother. We can observe and occasionally give a divining but never interfere. Our realm is to patrol the gates and occasionally venture to the other realms if the order is given.”

Monster Slayer scoffed, “Come on Brother. We are warriors. We fight and protect the living.”

“And we also created the lineages that do our work in the world of the living.”

Monster Slayer looked at his younger brother. Child of the Water was always the logical one. He preferred to plan his attacks out and usually that had to be the case. It worked when they retrieved their father’s remains and brought them back to their mother. He gave a smirk, “Yes the hunter lineages and look how well that turned out. One clan is nothing but renegades.”

“Such as always the case when tradition fails to satisfy those caught up in the changing world,” the younger brother replied.

“Ingrates.”

The younger brother laughed. His older siblings could find anything to gripe about if it didn’t make him happy. In fact his brother was most happy when he was slaying monsters. He replied, “Misguided. It happens to all of us.” He gave a slight chuckle at the face his brother was making which was telling him that he must be crazy. It was how they always ‘discussed’ things.

Monster Slayer scoffed. It was just like his brother trying to find the best in everything… even in the things that they fought against. That was his nature. Yet he wouldn’t have his brother any other way. They were in the fight together. He replied, “Whatever you say Little Brother. So what about that human who breached our security? What’s his story?”

Child of the Water looked back at the still water and back at his brother. He replied, “It is an interesting case. Humans generally don’t break through our barriers like that.”

“I don’t know about you but I think he was a spy and it was foolish to let him go,” Monster Slayer replied and crossed his arms.

Child of the Water gave a slight shake of his head. He replied, “In case you didn’t notice, he had no idea what he was doing here. My namesake even found him.”

“Just what are you saying Brother?” Monster Slayer looked at his brother with suspicion. There were times that his brother had a tendency to pay attention too much to the details.

“Besides the ones who are sensitive to dream walking, there are a few humans who can make it this far and they typically are part of the lineages we created,” Child of the Water looked at his brother in the eye.

Monster Slayer looked at his brother with narrowed eyes. This was true but one couldn’t be too careful. That human was the first to breach this far in over a century and that had been one of those ingrates who tried to kill his brother. That pissed him off seriously and he became much more paranoid about security of their inner sanctum. He even suggested that they hide out in the mortal realm. Like the gods, their powers would be greatly reduced but they were still powerful enough to erect a sanctuary and hide.

His brother of course insisted that they stay and that it was a misguided effort. It was frustrating since it seemed that the ingrates always wanted to blame his brother for what they called a cursed life. It was easy to do since his brother always appeared to be a meek lamb and a non-threat. It was always a good laugh when his brother was under estimated even by the younger gods who tried to beat them in the ridiculous challenges they came up with.

This time though, the fact that his brother mentioned that the human might be from one of the lineages put him on the alert. He replied, “So you’re saying that he may be one of ours?”

“He does have a brother and he’s a lot like you,” Child of the Water replied with a shrug of his shoulders. “Besides I could sense that he had been dream walking before. Her scent was on him.”

“You mean that one…”

“Yes my brave slayer of monsters. Absolution has a strange way of leaving her mark on things. On could see it as a blessing or a curse depending on how you look at it.”

Both brothers turned towards the owner of the voice. Child of the Water gave a respectful bow while Monster Slayer gave a nod. He was the one who said, “So your brother’s favorite toy has been messing around with things again.”

Cloud of the Water gave his brother an elbow. He said, “Absolution has suffered enough.”

“Oh right,” Monster Slayer replied with a sarcastic tone, “The contest really did a number on her. It’s not like she can’t handle herself.”

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Cloud of the Water replied. He gave a narrow look that said he was annoyed and he probably would punch his brother.

“I know what you meant, stupid.”

“Sure… jerk.”

“Both of you settle down,” the queen said. She had appealed to the brothers to help her reach one of the sensitives in order to rescue her brother. The demon that had used the spell to bind him was one of the more powerful within the hierarchy and he had used one of binding spells that could have been considered long forgotten.

It didn’t help that she found out that this demon answered to another and that he had plans. Part of those plans was the involvement of humans like the one that came through earlier. The reason for it, she wasn’t sure but she was attuned to the fact that the human was unique. Perhaps it could be possible to reach out to him to get to Absolution. It had been her idea to appeal to the chosen one but the efforts of the brothers had been thwarted when they tried to use the vision quest methods. They did manage to contact her brother and his information turned out to be a major revelation.

As it turned out, the demon was going to use her brother to break Absolution further. Her brother had the power to take memories and create the worst possible nightmares to the point where the dreamer couldn’t tell the difference between reality and illusion. For it to work however, he had to delve deep into the mind and reach for the deepest of fears. She knew her brother though and he would delay as long as he could while she pushed the players into position.

She looked at the brothers who had started wrestling. The eldest was telling his brother that no matter what, he always could kick his ass. Never had she met a pair of siblings that had so much affection for each other and yet they could get on each other’s nerves. She said, “Both of you know that with Morpheus bound, the demons could force him to create nightmares for any being, human and nonhuman alike. The best choice would be to try and reach the human again.”

The brothers stopped what they were doing and broke apart. Cloud of the Water spoke, “It would be difficult. Unless he went to one of the old ones versed in this.”

The queen smiled, “I am sure that he will find his way. After all besides him, another was touched by the demon Absolution seeks. Together they will send him here. In the meantime, you should both keep trying to reach Absolution. I sense that spirit is at work and plus the Lady spoke to me.”

The brothers nodded in agreement. They turned to go carry out the queen’s request. Monster Slayer whispered to his brother, “Should we mention that one of the spirit animals got loose and is bound to Absolution?”

Cloud of the Water looked at his brother with a look. He shrugged his shoulders.


	11. Chapter 11

_Five Hours Earlier_

“So what brings you both here?” It was an innocent question but also a necessary one. Natalia would have had no problem being a bit more familiar with Bobby but since he was accompanied by Dean, she wasn’t sure if he was aware that there was something off about him.

Dean remembered the girl well. He thought her to be a good looking chick and had tried to flirt with her but had been unsuccessful. Maybe he might get lucky again. He put on his most charming smile and replied, “I could say it’s because I knew the company would be good.”

Bobby watched and listened and grumbled a bit. He was about to put a stop to it when the old woman grabbed his arm with the end of her cane. She motioned for him to follow her to the back but he paused. He contemplated at the wisdom of leaving Dean alone with the Natalia girl. She at first seemed nervous to be around Dean but it was quickly gone.

The old woman tugged on his arm again. One last glance and he saw that the girl was fending off Dean’s sweet talk. She would be all right… well he thought so. He followed the old woman to the back where he and Sam had been earlier. As soon as they were in the back, the old woman got down to business. She said, “You and the younger one need to see the old man.”

“Well that’s a bit demanding. Why?” Bobby frowned at the question while assuming the role of a parent.

“The young one has been touched by a demon. Has seen the place between places. Must see again. Only then will you be able to find your friend.” The old woman spoke quickly and tried to make sure that there were no misunderstandings.

Bobby knew the old woman was talking about Sam since Dean had mentioned what John had told him regarding Sam. Yet some of the other stuff she was talking about sounded like a bunch of nonsense at first but then when he fit together Sam’s dream about the warrior brothers, it started to make sense.

Bobby had heard of dream walking before and in fact recently had done some reading on it for no reason at all. Something just told him to do it. From what he gathered the use of African dream root was useful in getting people to do that. He also read that there were people who were naturally good at it and they didn’t require the use of the plant. How that was relevant he wasn’t sure yet but it could be applied to Sam’s case. He replied, “And how is that supposed to help us find Angie?”

“A reason there is the young one saw them. Larger plan there is. Perhaps the dark one is not dead.”

“Well in that case do you have any idea where this old man lives?”

“Follow the creature of the night. Now you must go but watch the older one.”

Bobby thought that this conversation was one of the shortest ones he had with the old woman so far. He frowned slightly at her insistence that they leave. He didn’t miss the warning that he should keep an eye on Dean. It had him wondering if Dean was truly his normal self. He certainly was acting like it. He replied, “You think something is wrong?”

Nana gave a slight nod. She added, “Has a good heart and much emotions. Much memories that fuel him. Use against him, make him see red where black is. Play with the worst fears and he will see courage as an enemy.” It was all she could give at the moment and it was what she could see in the short time she had observed him and what she had heard in the whispers.

Bobby wasn’t sure if he followed all of it completely. The general gist was that whatever was screwing around with Dean was using the most sensitive aspects of his life. That would be his mom and dad but largely to an extent, Sam’s well being. Bobby had seen firsthand how Dean reacted when nearly got beaten up by some low life punks when they stayed at his place when they were kids. If he hadn’t come out when he did, Dean would have probably choked the guy to death. The past few months hadn’t been that easy either since John died.

Dean looked up to John and had always tried to please him. At times Dean would confide to Bobby that he felt a failure at times and he wouldn’t know what he would do if he failed at doing what he had always done and that was watching Sam’s back. Thing was recently, ever since Angela joined them on the road, Dean had seemed a bit more happier at times or at least not as down on himself as he had been. Bobby always wondered how she was able to get the Winchester boys to talk even when they didn’t want to. He certainly had seen a friendship develop between her and Sam and he wondered if deep down this whole mess was offset by jealousy. It was something to investigate and ask Sam about later. Bobby looked at the old woman and replied, “Thanks for all your help. I’ll keep an eye out as you say.”

“I’ve done nothing except give answers when they couldn’t be found. The journey still must be taken.”

“Right,” Bobby replied as he took his leave. He had dealt with strange people ever since he got into this business. Some of them did like to talk in the strange riddle tones that he had been listening to ever since he met the old woman and he had the patience to listen. Whether or not he understood was up to him and usually he filed it away for later.

He found Dean smirking at the Natalia girl who was giving polite smiles and returning Dean’s flirting with banter of her own. It surprised Bobby that the girl was quick of wit when she appeared like the typical stereotype of a demure maiden or something equally clichéd.

“So you planning on doing anything tonight?” Dean was asking Natalia.

“The usual,” Natalia replied as she finished marking down on the map several locations of abandoned cabins of the old mining town.

It seemed to be coincidence that she had her vision and then these two walked in. When Dean asked about abandoned cabins in the area, she was a bit surprised. He seemed more friendlier than before but she could tell that something was still off about him. She only hoped that Mr. Singer was being careful. She offered to help and pulled out a map she had of the area and started marking places that made an outline of the old mining town.

“I guess that’s the deal when you have responsibilities like a kid,” Dean replied in good humor.

Natalia gave a polite smile, “Part of being and adult. I’m sure you have yours with the work you do.”

“Guess you could say that though it feels good to get away once in a while.”

“It usually does. I’m glad that the dances will be on this year. The people were planning it long and hard.”

Dean leaned on the counter as he studied her markings on the map. He replied, “Dances?”

Natalia didn’t look up as she continued to work. There were several that might fit the description that Dean gave her and she circled them. She replied, “The Sun Dances that are held every summer. It is a tradition of my people.”

“That’s nice.”

“They are especially since we return thanks to the Sun for all that he has given us.” Natalia finished marking the map. Glancing upwards, she saw that Mr. Singer and Nana had come back from wherever they were. She added, “Well these are some of the more likely locations that fit your description. Trouble is that some of them are a fair distance away. A car can make it up there but you would have better time on horseback.”

“Well I think my baby can make it up there. She’s certainly got the horsepower,” Dean replied boasting slightly of the Impala’s capabilities.

“That I have no doubt,” Natalia replied as she folded up the map to hand over. She watched Dean and she figured that he wasn’t a bad guy. He was probably Sam’s best friend in the whole world even though they were brothers; a detail Dean let slip when he was trying to flirt with her again. She had to admit that it was rather pathetically funny since he seemed to have a whole assembly line of cheesy pick-up lines.

Right now though that humor was overshadowed by the creeped out feeling that she was getting and she felt the urge to do something to help Mr. Singer and Sam and to an extent Dean. She was inspired by an idea. It was something from an old lesson that Nana had taught her when she was a girl.

_“Nana, what are we doing? Why is that man tied up?”_

_“He is possessed child. It doesn’t look like it but it is there.”_

_Natalia looked at the man. He looked friendly but she could tell that something was off about him. She looked up at her grandmother and asked, “It’s not a monster is it Nana?”_

_“No child. The slave of a monster. There are ways to tell once you suspect.” Nana then proceeded to recite the words in her language while Natalia listened. The words made the shadow appear over the man. Nana then said, “See? He is a slave. Now we must cleanse him.” Nana then walked forward with Old Mad Johnson and they prepared for the rite of cleansing…_

Natalia gave a slight smile as she handed over the map to Dean. This reminded her so much of that time. Nana would tell her that there is always a reason for things happening the way they do. It would sound like mumbo jumbo to people who didn’t understand, but she did. She could do this and see if she was reliving a memory. As she handed the map over to Dean, she muttered the words just as she had remembered them.

The reaction was instantaneous as the shadow appeared over Dean. What Natalia didn’t expect was his own reaction. She could see a dangerous glint in his eye as he said, “So you know a trick or two. Impressive if you can use it to actually gank a monster. Or maybe you are one?”

“Mind your manners boy,” Bobby intervened and gave a head smack to Dean’s head. He had seen the shadow appear around Dean and he had never seen anything like it before. He hoped that a familiar action would snap Dean out of it.

“What manners Bobby? She’s probably a monster… like the monster Sam might become.” Dean glared at Bobby. His temper had flared instantly once he discovered the girl knew a thing or two about the supernatural. A shame, since she was a pretty chick, but then again she reeked of the yellow eyed demon and he had enough of the psychic freaks.

“Ya know that ain’t true. God boy you’re starting to sound like Gordon Walker,” Bobby countered while making a slight motion to warn back the girl. She took the hint and backed away towards her grandmother.

“Well Bobby maybe he had the right idea,” Dean replied at the exact moment that Sam walked in.

Sam had come in to ask Natalia about the sachet and the herbs that were in them. He was not an expert on plants and he could identify a few especially those involved in spells but he wasn’t sure about the ones in his pocket. Since he was sure Natalia’s grandmother put it in his jacket when she handed it back to him, he thought that he could ask Natalia since she didn’t talk in riddles and figure out why her grandmother thought it necessary that he have it.

When he got there, he saw that the Impala was there and figured that Bobby and Dean were asking some questions. Sam knew that his description of the cabin wasn’t much to go on. Hell it was probably what he should have done in the first place: ask the locals. When he walked in, he saw his brother acting like he did when he was under the demon’s control but there was a slight difference. Sam couldn’t fail to see the dark shadow that hung over his brother. Dean also seemed to be more agitated and it looked like more likely to react in a violent way. He overheard the last comment and thought he should speak up, “Who has the right idea Dean?”

“To put it simply Sam Winchester, your brother doesn’t like the fact that you are dealing with psychic freaks like yourself,” a voice came from behind.

Everyone in the room turned to face the newcomer. Natalia recognized him immediately from the warehouse. He must have repossessed his body after they left or something. She said, “Parker?”

Parker flicked his eyes so they could see the black pools. He didn’t take a step further since it was bad enough the herbs were getting to him. The sigils were for weaklings and they had been weakened by a certain ally. He grinned at the girl, “Yes my sweet. Didn’t think that I would leave you behind?”

“Stop creature. You cannot come further,” Nana spoke in strong tones that shocked Sam slightly since all he ever heard come out of her mouth were the riddles.

Parker laughed as he took a tentative step forward. The looks on the girl and the old woman’s faces were priceless in his mind. He replied, “Oh your little wards didn’t work? I see it pays to have help from someone on the inside. Not that he would have known what he was doing.”

Sam looked at his brother. Dean didn’t appear to be bothered by any of this. At least not to the degree that Natalia and her grandmother were showing but he was alarmed that a demon was there. It had Sam wondering if Dean had done anything to the sigils that he had seen earlier. He probably didn’t know he was doing anything wrong. A quick glance and Sam saw where one line had been rubbed away on one of them. He looked at the demon, wishing that he had remembered his vials of salt and holy water.

“So what are ya here for? It can’t possibly be for one of these,” Bobby replied making a sweeping gesture about the store,

“Just having fun watching you pathetic meat suits run around trying to find the one thing that you can’t. Also having fun messing with heads,” Parker grinned. His face then turned into a mock out as he said, “Sadly play time has been declared over. Things are about to get a little hot here and I’m sure that you’ll want to be out before it gets hotter.”

At that moment smoke started to appear followed by flames. It didn’t take long for the building to catch fire. It was like an inferno as the flames spread from the ceiling downward. For Sam it was like reliving Jess’ murder all over again but he forced himself to focus as he looked at the demon who was looking rather pleased with himself at the moment. Sam lunged forward but was blocked by falling debris. He put his hands up to defend himself and peered through at the demon. The demon Parker said, “Bad memories eh Sammy? How do you think she feels now that we have her?” The demon then left.

Sam looked to find no sign of his brother Dean. It was as if he had disappeared. As much as he wanted to search for him, the first order of business was to get everybody out. Dean could take care of himself. Besides Sam suspected that the demon may have kidnapped his brother or he went willingly. It was something to work out later while he looked for Bobby. Bobby, he saw, was trying to help the old woman. Sam said, “Bobby, this way’s blocked.”

“Then we go through the back,” Bobby replied and started heading that way. Natalia followed to try and get her baby while Sam brought up the rear.

When Natalia tried to get to Jerry, Sam stopped her. She screamed, “My baby.”

Sam looked in the room and could make out the outline of the playpen. He replied, “Natalia, show Bobby the way out. I’ll get your baby. Alright?”

Natalia would have protested but with the fire roaring and threatening to bring everything down, there was no time to argue. She gave a quick nod and ran to grab a hold of Bobby and guide him out through the back exit. It was slow going since the air was thick with smoke and she couldn’t help but cough.

They finally made it out just as the sirens were rounding the corner. It was a testament to how ‘normal’ the town seemed since a few days ago, the fire department would have gotten into a tiff over something like a car being parked in a no park zone or something. They made their way out of the alley and were greeted by EMT crews who gave them oxygen and the whole workup while the fire crew went to work.

It was then that Natalia managed to get out, “My baby is still in there. Sam’s still in there.”

Bobby heard and looked around. There was no sign of Sam. He looked at the burning building and started towards it only to be held back by the EMT. He said, “My nephew is in there. Sam? Sam!”

An explosion caught their attention. Seeing the ball of fire erupt caused Bobby to try again. He struggled and shouted for Sam while Natalia shouted for her baby.

****

Sam felt the smoke enter his lungs and coughed as he made his way to where the baby was sitting in his playpen clutching a toy car. With everything burning, the heat was becoming unbearable and the strange thought of wondering if hell was as bad as this entered into his brain.

_Enough time for jokes later._

Sam jerked his head up and looked around. The crackle of the flames was all he heard as he made it to the play pen. Jerry looked up at him with big eyes and said, “Sammy hep me?”

Grabbing one of the blankets in the playpen, Sam ran over to the bathroom and turned on the tub and began soaking the blanket. At least the little guy would be okay. Satisfied that it was moist enough, Sam wrapped it around the two year old and his toy car and picked him up and cuddled him close to his chest. He turned to look back at the way he came.

The way had become blocked by falling debris and flames. There was nowhere else to go except into the rooms back there and as far as Sam could tell, there were no exit doors. Sam looked around for a window or something. He thought he heard the wail of sirens but the roar of the fire was too overpowering in his ears. He adjusted his hold on the kid and patted his back to soothe him. _Great, nowhere to go._

A feeble squawk caught his attention and Sam turned to see the eagle he had seen before sitting in the room that was somewhere to go but not necessarily a way out. It looked battered and injured but it looked at him with a no nonsense look. It squawked again and raised its wings to hop away towards the back of the room.

With the flames closing in, Sam had little choice but to obey. Besides he followed the bird before and maybe he was supposed to follow again. Stifling a cough, he followed the eagle through the smoke. The sobbing of the kid told him that he was all right to some degree and made sure the damp cloth was over the kid’s head. Sam kept himself bent low just incase something happened and he needed to protect the kid. Something did happen.

The fire must have hit a gas source, possibly the kitchen since he had noticed the stove was a gas one and probably an old one. The explosion was loud and knocked him off his feet. He landed with a thud using his arms to keep him from crushing the kid. Sam got up slowly and looked back to see the flames coming. He felt heat on his leg and saw that his pants had caught fire. Using his free hand he beat the flames out and looked in the direction he was heading.

The squawk came again and upon looking, Sam saw the eagle. It had found what looked like a window. They could get out. A crash caught Sam’s attention and when he looked back, the eagle was gone. Not wasting time Sam put the kid down and tried the latch and lift to get the window open. It wouldn’t budge and Sam realized that he would have to deal with the next case scenario.

Looking around, he a thick piece of wood that was kind of lumpy. He didn’t know what it was but he did know that it was heavy enough to break a window. Heaving it up, he managed to launch it through the window and the glass shattered in a crash. Seeing that there were still some sharp edges, Sam looked around for something that would act as a cover. He found it in a blanket and folded it quickly and threw it over the pane.

The distance between the window and the ground was not one that Sam would put a two year through. He tried to figure out how he was going to get the kid through when something clunked to get his attention. The door he had come through had been pulled shut as the fire tried to grab more oxygen. He could see the smoke coming from underneath and the door bulged slightly.

Not thinking but acting Sam picked up the kid and told him to holding onto his neck. The kid was calm as he took the ends of the blanket and tied them around him to make a harness of sorts. The creak of the door was not reassuring and Sam was out of the window and jumped to the ground just as some not to good sounding sounds came out. Sam coughed trying to clear his lungs of the smoke and peered under the folds to look at the kid.

Jerry had tears coming down his grubby face but otherwise he was fine. At least in Sam’s opinion. Sam looked back at the smoke coming out of the building and then back down at the kid. “Okay let’s find your mom.”

Sam couldn’t stop coughing as he made his way to the front of the store. He inhaled more smoke than he thought. At this rate, he would mostly likely hack up a lung. The kid had stopped his tears and was cuddling against his chest so that was one less thing to worry about.

It was a relief to finally see the EMT bus as he searched in between the fire trucks. He was waylaid by a firefighter who escorted him over after learning that he had been the one that had been the cause of near fist fights with the EMT crew. The first thing he was greeted by was Bobby saying, “Ya idjit. What were you thinking of by doing something stupid?” Bobby gave him a head smack for good measure.

Natalia demanded to see her baby and when she saw his grubby face smiling at her, she grabbed him in her arms. While she was hugging him, she thanked Sam and allowed the EMT to take a look at Jerry. Another held up an oxygen mask to Sam.

Sam was about to refuse when he let loose a cough. Bobby pushed him back to sit on the edge of the bus and shoved an oxygen mask in his face. Sam couldn’t resist teasing Bobby about it while his thoughts were on what happened in the store and where his brother was.

****

_There it was again. One of them was in trouble and she was stuck here in this place, waiting to wake up. She needed to help but how was the question. Perhaps the same trick would work again. Even though the last time caused injury, it still allowed her through. She could try again. She heard a ridiculous thought and thought a berating one, wishing it could be heard so he could focus. She then concentrated._

_The wings were still mangled from the last time but they worked. She was inside and she saw the flames and smelt the smoke. She saw them stranded. She needed to help them. The only thing powerful enough was her voice and she used it._

_He responded and followed. He followed until she led him to the way out. Now it was time to rest. He would find the way out._


	12. Chapter 12

_Three Hours Earlier_

Natalia looked around at the various buildings that made up the ranch. She hadn’t been there since she had been a little girl but walking through them, she could see that nothing had changed much. Then again Old Mad Johnson stuck with what worked and he did most of the work himself until recently. The state of the buildings was a testament to his dedication to the place.

It was a kindness returned as well as the nature of her people to help those in need when the old man offered her, Jerry and Nana a place to stay after the fire. Nana accepted at once and immediately started conversing in her people’s language with some other words thrown in that Natalia didn’t understand. It was apparent that they were discussing something that she wasn’t meant to hear yet. So she went out to take a look at the grounds after putting the baby to bed.

She had been wandering for some time and she eventually made her way to the corral where the colts were milling about. Smiling she walked up to watch them. She gave a slight whistle and two colts came out towards her. She chuckled when she saw that one was Child of the Water and the other she surmised was his brother Monster Slayer and he was tossing his head as if to flirt with her. Sadly it reminded her of Dean and she hoped that he was okay.

She and Nana hadn’t seen Sam and Bobby after the fire and guessed that they went to find Dean. She made some tentative inquiries and found out that there had been no one else in the building. That left her thinking that he must have gotten out but the nasty thought that the Parker demon took stole into her mind. She began stroking both colts on their noses more as a reassurance and thought about happier times when she heard a noise coming from the feed room.

Child of the Water nosed her hand while Monster Slayer gave a slight push on her shoulder and gave a whinny as if to smirk at her. Natalia gave a wry grin at the colts and shook her head in amusement. When she heard the noise again, she gave a slight frown and started towards the noise after giving both colts a pat.

The feed room had always fascinated her since she was a little girl. Old Mad Johnson had shown her the different types of feed and showed her how to mix them. When she was little, he would let her mix the feed for the elderly horses. Everything was the same except for a small area that had not been there before and it seemed that was where the noise she had heard was coming from. She tentatively walked towards it. As she rounded the corner, she was greeted by a squawk and her eyes widened in surprise.

It was the eagle that she had seen in her dreams and visions. Natalia squatted down to observe the creature as it rustled its wings which looked a little beat up. It turned its head towards Natalia and looked at her. Natalia couldn’t help but stare into the eagle’s eyes and was surprised when it didn’t react like other animals did when they were looked in the eye. Rather it moved towards her and nipped playfully at one of her braids.

Natalia couldn’t help but chuckle as she watched the bird nip her braids. Obeying an impulse, she tentatively reached out with her hand. She wanted to touch the feathers and smooth them a little. If this was the same one she saw in her vision, then it could have been hurt badly. Slowly she extended her hand aware that if it chose to, it could tear her arm to shreds with its talons.

Natalia was able to touch the feathers and smooth them out. Gently she stroked the feathers while the bird gave her what could be a quizzical stare. It was almost as if it were asking her what the hell she was doing and why wasn’t she doing her job. Natalia found it funny to look at but she got the feeling that this bird was not your typical animal. If anything it could be connected to Sam’s friend and if that was the case, then…

“A complicated thing the spirit world is, especially when it involves dreams and emotions.”

Natalia turned towards the owner of the voice remembering to move slowly so that the eagle wasn’t startled. She looked at the owner and replied, “And what does it say now Uncle?”

Old Mad Johnson looked at the girl he had known since she was a little girl. Like the old woman, he had known that she had been touched by the demon that was overall responsible for this and had gone through great lengths to keep her hidden. She was also attuned to the old ways like her grandmother. He replied, “Courage is trapped and can only reach out in spirit.”

“I know. Her friends are looking for her and one seems to be missing.”

“A slave he is now. Terrible things he will do.”

Natalia narrowed her eyes in thought. She knew that he was talking about Dean and she replied, “But he is a good person. The demon is the one that does its work. It is as Nana says: they are manipulators.”

The old man looked at the girl thoughtfully. He had lived a long time so maybe he didn’t see things as she did. She had much to learn as well. That would be later. He watched as the eagle on the ground flapped its wings and lifted itself up to land on the counter, putting herself between him and the girl. The eagle then turned to nip playfully at Natalia’s braids. _Interesting._ The old man then said, “True but to end this travel must be made to the spirit world. The brothers have been whispering to me. They wish to speak to a Sam Winchester.”

Natalia looked up. “What?”

“They want to speak to him.”

****

Austin didn’t need to ask but rather followed his nose. To a vampire, scents were among the most powerful weapons to possess. At least they weren’t classed like hellhounds. Those were some nasty bitches and once they caught your scent. You were never free until you were killed by it or you killed the bitch. In this case, he could rely on his sense of smell to locate Sam Winchester and his friend and tell them what he had found out.

He had heard about the fire from the old man and went to see for himself since he was already heading to town. The store looked like it had suffered a gas explosion where the roof caved in. He could make out the stench of burnt wood, plastic, metal and herbs. He was glad that he didn’t smell human flesh but he could make out the presence of a demon, quite possibly two. He concluded that the demons must have started the fire while there were people inside intending on killing them but they got out.

Austin stayed looking at the charred remains for a while before he remembered why he came in the first place. He kept to himself as he passed others who decided to take an evening stroll. He really didn’t get how this town could go back to normal and yet there was darkness that hung over just a few people. Maybe the other stuff was a means to lure the pieces into position. He wouldn’t put it past the enemy especially if it was **that** demon.

He followed the scent to the motel and followed it to a door. He paused to listen. He heard voices on the other side and recognized both. He gave a tentative knock. He heard the voices go quiet and footfalls. Of course they would be cautious and if he were then, he would have a weapon, probably a gun in his hand. A voice then asked, “Dean?”

Austin replied, “No. It’s me.” He stepped back as the door opened cautiously.

****

Parker studied the hunter that he had been keeping an eye on ever since the battle at the warehouse. He was impressed with the resilience of the hunter in terms of resistance. Even with the stronger dose, the hunter seemed to fluctuate between his normal behavior and his more agitated state. Partly that was due to the ramblings that the prisoner had been saying throughout the day.

She never woke up completely after the hunter brought her in but she did wake. The thing was her eyes were glassy and it was evident that she was not fully awake at all. It was possibly from the effects that damn god was doing in order to do the boss’ bidding.

Parker looked at the god of dream with disgust as he did his work picking through the bitch’s brain and searching for a memory to wreak havoc with. So far she was being kept in a dream state. Sooner or later though, the boss was going to demand that she be woken up. He didn’t understand why all this trouble but all the boss said was that the orders came straight from the top.

Parker thought that this was a load of crap and went so far as to suggest once that perhaps the boss’ boss may have been lying. After all demons weren’t exactly known for their truthfulness though some of what they said was truth. It was just manipulated in a way that toyed with the emotions of their playthings. In the end with those games, one could hardly tell what was the truth and what was the lie. Perhaps that was the whole point of this. Though why these two, Parker could only guess that it had to involve one of those disgusting things that they weren’t allowed to harm and it made him sick.

The hunter was watching the bitch with a curious expression. Suddenly she said, “Should’ve been there… should’ve…”

The hunter asked, “What is she talking about?”

Parker wondered that too. He looked at the boss who was studying the bitch. She was still muttering the same thing. Maybe the bastard of a god knew what he was doing after all. Finally some headway and maybe some fun to torment the bitch; it made Parker almost giddy.

The boss leaned in closer and then stood up straight. He looked at the hunter and replied, “We may have some answers for you.” He then turned towards the god of dreams and said, “Use this. Wake her.”

The god glared at the boss. Parker thought he had seen hatred but the look of the god’s face was nothing compared to looks he had seen from his fellow demons when they faced those detested hunters. The god looked like he wanted to smite the boss but something was holding him back.

“You don’t know what you are asking,” the god said.

“I do. Now wake her and use what you found.” The boss then turned a smiling face towards the hunter and started on a friendly conversation.

Parker watched as the god waved his hand over the bitch. She started moving as if struggling to wake. The god said, “You have no idea what you are doing.”

****

Sam breathed a sigh of relief as he sat on his bed. Finally away from the doctors and the local hospital, he could get back to the business of finding Angela and now his brother. It was clear that demons were involved and what he had noticed from Natalia’s reaction was that she had met him before. So that meant that maybe they hadn’t done a thorough job as they thought or it was all a ruse. For what, Sam suspected it had to do with Yellow Eyes.

“Sam?”

Sam snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Bobby. “Sorry Bobby. Just thinking about everything and what to do next.”

“Ya mind filling me in? Cause I sure as hell don’t want to have demons hanging around here any more than necessary.”

Sam ran a hand through his brown locks and replied, “Well everything that has been happening it seems like it is directed at people like me since Natalia was taken. I thought that it was a means of testing our abilities or more specifically hers.”

“And now?”

Sam frowned as he replied, “Well that’s just it. I don’t think it was ever about the psychics. I think it was more about Angie.” He paused a moment and then added, “I think this whole thing is a test for her and probably her abilities. I wouldn’t put it past the demons to do something like that since they practically hate her… more or less.”

Now Bobby was surprised. He wondered how Sam jumped to this line of thinking since the most obvious problem was with Dean. That boy was under some kind of influence and they needed to find the solution to that problem. Still he was willing to follow Sam’s reasoning as long as he could explain it. He replied, “How do you figure that?”

Sam paused, thinking of how to explain it. It would touch upon things that she had told him and things that could be mistaken the wrong way and yet Sam thought that was part of the reason for all this. He said, “She’s been tracking Yellow Eyes for years… longer than Dad did.”

“So the demon did something to her?”

“She was tricked into setting him free,” Sam replied looking up at the grizzled hunter. “She’s been chasing him ever since to try and send him back to the pit or kill him.”

Bobby thought Sam was crazy for saying that and responded, “How in hell does someone like her get tricked into releasing a demon?” He couldn’t conceive that she would let herself be so easily tricked.

Sam was about to answer when a knock was heard on the door. He reached for his gun and motioned to Bobby to open the door on a signal. He hoped that it might be Dean. If it was, they could tie him up until the whole thing was over for sure. That was way better than him knocking his brother out with a chokehold. He approached the door and asked, “Dean?”

“It’s me.”

Sam recognized the voice and motioned for Bobby to open the door. Austin stood there looking as if he were bored but also curious about the whole scene in front of him. “Did you find anything?”

If Austin had been surprised at the sudden getting down to business, he didn’t show it as he walked into the room. He gave a wry grin and replied, “Always getting down to business I see.” He glanced at Bobby who was regarding him with an expression that said that he probably would kill him if he decided to get cute. Austin then added, “I have some idea as to what you are looking for and it was fortunate that I was able to find it.”

Bobby looked at Sam and asked, “This that vampire you decided to make friend with?”

Austin looked at the elder hunter and replied, “I usually consort with others like me.”

“Well I wouldn’t trust ya with a ten foot pole.”

“Few do especially if they have watched too many of those damned Hollywood movies,” Austin countered smoothly. “Too many things wrong.”

“Usually are,” Bobby countered. “Now would ya mind telling us why you’re here and maybe I’ll reconsider about lopping that head of yours off.”

Austin couldn’t help but chuckle. He replied, “Certainly. Who am I to pass up on a chance to be beheaded by someone from the bayou?” He sobered up quickly after relishing the look on Bobby’s face and turned towards Sam and said, “I believe I found the place where they are hiding our mutual friend and you had the right idea about it being an abandoned cabin but I think we should go a bit bigger.”

Sam jumped on it, “Where?”

Austin thought that Sam was being just a little too eager and gave a tentative sniff that wouldn’t be noticeable to his audience. He could sense herbs, and the smell of smoke lingered on the two. Then it hit him: the older brother was nowhere in sight. That would be the reason for the eagerness. He hoped he could tame it before Sam did something stupid. He pulled out the map that he had tucked into his pocket and laid it out on the table. “There are several vacant properties that have been left to waste. Typical of the economy. Some are actually historical in the sense that those buildings were around during the early days of settlement.”

“Alright enough with the history lesson. Ya know where it is?” Bobby asked the question, not eager to hear a history lesson on property.

Austin looked at the grizzled hunter and then back at the map. “When you mentioned cabins, I thought maybe the smaller farms and for some odd reason of a historic site near Atlantic City but I went smaller. It turns out that there are old cabins on the outskirts of town with some of them half finished. In fact most of them belong to a large property here…” Austin pulled out a marker and marked a large circle on the map. “I think she may be in this old abandoned ranch property.”

Sam peered at the map. It certainly was out of the way. Probably figured that no one would think to look there. “So you know which one?”

“That is a problem,” Austin replied, “I went to scout and actually there are quite a few of our black eyed friends there. Not enough to constitute a nest of them but they could be a problem.”

“So we are looking at a well guarded place then?”

“Yes,” Austin looked at the two hunters. “I should also warn you that I was picking up on some serious mojo going on. I had never seen anything like it before but I think that whoever it is must be powerful.”

Sam looked down at the map thoughtfully. He then said, “Well it could be the rage demon that I probably did not kill or I just killed one and there are two. Bobby didn’t you say something about those kinds of demons being skilled in illusions?”

Bobby gave a slight shrug, “Something like that but demons like the rage demons focus more on the base emotions. Take an existing emotion and then just crank up the juice. It would seem to fit for Dean.”

Sam nodded in agreement. He glanced at Austin and asked, “So how do you propose we do this B&E?”

Austin resisted the snort that threatened. He was amused with the human tendency to shorten things into initials or acronyms. He did have to admit that some of them were quite funny while others were just plain stupid. He studied the map and wished he had a blown up version of the layout but he would work with what he had. He made some dots on the map and said, “These are where I was able to spot some guards. If possible, we could lure them away from their posts one by one and lock them in a devil’s trap.”

“That’s fine and dandy if only dirt were legible surfaces,” Bobby let out in a fit of sarcasm.

“Then we would have to just take them out,” Austin countered.

That had Sam thinking. She did have a sniper rifle and he wondered why in the hell would she need that kind of a weapon. The shotguns and handguns he could understand but that rifle was another story. However maybe they could use it. He ventured, “What about a sniper rifle?”

“You have one?”

“Angie does. I can go get it,” Sam explained and disappeared down the hall to retrieve the bag. He was back momentarily with it slung over his shoulder. He dropped it on the other bed and unrolled it to reveal her stash. He pulled out the rifle and handed it to Austin to look at. “That should work.”

Austin gave a wry smile as he looked at it. Only she would have one stashed away for emergencies. “This will do. Now…”

There was another knock at the door and Sam went to take a peek out of the eye hole. He frowned as he opened it and said, “Natalia what are you doing here?”

Natalia had no idea why she was there either but Old Man Johnson did insist that they get to Sam Winchester. She drove the battered truck since Austin was not around to do it. She really had no idea where to look but she drove on just as her uncle told her to. It surprised her when they pulled up in front of a battered motel and she recognized Bobby’s car sitting out front. She looked at the old man who merely shuffled out of the truck and walked in.

Now standing outside the room she was wondering if she were going crazy of if her uncle had hidden talents that she didn’t know about yet. She met Sam’s puzzled frown with one of her own and it only deepened when she saw Austin standing in the room and holding a gun. She blurted, “Austin what are you doing here?”

Austin put down the rifle and turned to face his employer and Natalia. He wasn’t embarrassed about the whole thing. He had been in a few situations before where it was like being caught with your hand in the cookie jar. He replied, “Been looking for me sir?”

Old Mad Johnson merely smiled and just walked in, brushing past Sam. Once inside, he turned to look him over making Sam feel like he was a prize bull or something as he shut the door. It was completely unexpected when the old man grabbed Sam by the hair to pull him down so that he could look at him better.

Bobby would have sprung forward to help Sam but Austin stepped forward and tried to release the old man’s grip on Sam and Natalia started scolding in her language, telling the old man to let Sam go. Meanwhile Sam felt like he was in a game of tug-o-war or keep away. His hands were on his head since the old man was literally pulling his hair with one hand and he had a firm grip on his chin.

Suddenly the old man released Sam and shook off Austin’s hands. He looked at Sam who was rubbing his jaw. He then muttered something to Natalia in their language and she replied back. Her voice took on a reproachful tone as she spoke back. They continued their discussion for some time while Sam rubbed the soreness out of his jaw and wandered towards Bobby and where his own weapons were stashed.

Finally the discussion seemed to be over and with a glare to her uncle, Natalia turned towards the trio who were waiting and wondering what the hell that was all about. She looked at Sam and said, “I apologize for my uncle’s behavior. I didn’t know he was going to do that.”

Sam was still rubbing his jaw and frowning slightly, “That’s alright. No harm done.”

“None of the lasting kind,” Austin managed to mutter under his breath.

Natalia gave a limpid look at Austin before looking back at Sam. “Again I am sorry but my uncle said that he needed to be sure.”

“Sure about what?” Sam asked as he put his hands on his hips. It was all he could do while the initial rush of adrenaline wore off.

“That you are you.”

Finally the old man spoke, “The darkness controls people like your brother. Had to make sure you weren’t under the same darkness.”

“Well I can assure ya the boy ain’t possessed or whatever the hell it is called,” Bobby replied after giving a warning glance to Sam. The warning was to not correct him in regards to whatever the hell was wrong with Dean.

The old man gave a slight nod of agreement. He then said, “Caution is necessary for your presence is requested Sam Winchester.”

“By who?” Bobby was livid at the whole thing. First Sam was being manhandled by this old coot and now he was saying someone wanted to see him? It looked like this search was more than what he bargained for.

“A friend.”


	13. Chapter 13

_Two Hours Earlier_

They kept pushing her to open her eyes but she got the feeling that if she did that, it would be all over. It would be worse though this place wasn’t any better. At least here what bothered her would go away after a time. Most of it was a bunch of stuff that she had long dealt with though there were a few that she had never truly let go.

This place was familiar. _No shit Sherlock_ , she thought to herself. Of course she knew where here was. She knew this place better than any of the other over a hundred thousand places she had been to in her life. She always came here when she was in the neighborhood and she would watch but never go in. That was the rule of it.

She was standing outside looking at the house. The warm lights and the people she saw; she loved the happiness. It gave her joy to see that her friend was happy. True there had been some rough patches but what couple didn’t have those?

She watched as the lights began to turn off indicating as it was time for bed. Peering up at one window, she saw him. Quick as a flash, she raced into the house just as the flames started. She went into the room and saw him. He grinned at her and said that she was always too late. He disappeared and she was left standing in the charred remains of the house. She muttered, “Should’ve been there…”

“What else could you have done?”

Angela turned towards the familiar sounding voice. Seeing who it was, she replied, “You shouldn’t be here Sam.”

A second figure appeared that was even more familiar. He said, “Why is she calling you that name?”

“That’s a stupid question Dean,” Angela replied as she crossed her arms. She wondered how in the hell did they managed to get here. She had been in this place ever since someone hit her on the head and she had been living through her worst/best memories. Some were twisted versions and she got through them easily but some, like the fire in Lawrence, were still like a fresh wound. She stared at the brothers expectantly while waiting for them to answer her. She had all the time in the world even with whoever it was trying to get her to wake up.

The one who first addressed her looked at his brother and whispered, “She thinks we are the Winchester brothers.”

The other grumbled back, “Why is that? We have our own appearance… this is stupid.”

“We do have similar qualities to them. Such as it is with sibling pairs. The Mayans saw us differently… remember?”

“Fine but you explain it to her and why we are here.”

Sighing, the first one spoke, “First off, we are not who you think we are.”

“If it looks and smells like Winchester, then it is Winchester,” Angela replied.

“You are seeing us as them because we are the embodiment of their personalities. We both go by many names around the world but we generally are known as the warrior brothers who were sent to save the people from the monsters of the world.”

Angela looked at the two brothers. They looked like Sam and Dean and ‘Sam’ said that they were the warrior brothers. She ventured, “Okay not-Sam. What is one name that you are known by?”

Not-Sam replied, “In Navajo, I am known as Child of the Water. My older brother here is known as Monster Slayer. Perhaps those names will suffice for now?”

Once their names had been revealed, the appearance of the brothers shifted to that of their warrior visage. Angela could now see how she thought they were Sam and Dean. She almost laughed at the protective stance Monster Slayer took over his brother. It reminded her of the times before this mess occurred. She replied, “Alright now that I see you. What are you doing here? I’ve been trying to find a way out but haven’t until now.”

Child of the Water spoke, “That would be Morpheus’ doing.”

“Great the bloody dream king again. I’m sick and tired of being his plaything,” Angela grumbled.

“It’s not as you think,” Child of the Water replied. He watched the looked of disbelief form on her face and he hastened to explain, “Morpheus had been bound by the very demon that you thought was dead. The whole thing was a set up to lure you and your friends here but it is mostly for you. It was also to see if the rumors were true about another one of the special children.”

“Something about a test,” Monster Slayer added as he began looking around with a look of interest at the charred building. It always fascinated him the things that humans dreamed of and supposedly it helped to work out pressing matters on their minds. The queen and Morpheus knew how that worked.

“So they poison a town with rage to lure the three of us here just to get to me? Sounds a little over the top. They hate me but they wouldn’t go to those lengths,” Angela replied.

“Would they if it meant making sure that you are separated from the Winchesters? Drive a wedge between you?” Child of the Water watched as she went into thought. They were supposed to seek out Absolution and ask for help. They really weren’t to interfere and technically they weren’t when they made their request earlier. Having someone else do it was toeing the line and the balance wouldn’t be upset too much.

“That is possible. Azazel knows that I know about the deal he made with John and I am willing to bet that he knows about a few things I promised John I’d take care of,” Angela muttered deep in thought. She walked around the charred remains of the house. She had paid a visit to the house after the fire had been put out and had gone through it, staying the longest in Sam’s nursery and looking up at once was the ceiling. She had said the same thing over and over that day before taking off onto the next job, the next mission.

Finishing her thinking, she looked at the brothers and asked, “So why are you here? Wouldn’t he be able to keep you out if he was bound?”

It was Monster Slayer that grinned and it eerily was like the mischievous smirk Dean gave. He replied, “He will do what he is told but there are loopholes. Why do you think he is resisting waking you up? He knows that this is one of your more extreme memories. I’m betting the demon has someone who wants to see and hear what you have to say.”

“Well that’s very reassuring,” Angela replied as she would if it had been Dean talking.

Child of the Water looked at his brother with an annoyed frown and added, “The queen wanted to reach out to you to see if you could help set him free. The spell is an old one and interesting enough has to be broken from this realm.”

“Then why can’t you do it?”

“You know the rules. You’ve talked to the Lady quite a few times.”

Angela rolled her eyes. She knew the rules well about that. “Fine I get your point. Thing is you know I can’t stay here indefinitely. I have to wake up eventually. At least I know what to expect.” She gave a shrug of her shoulders.

The brothers looked at her. Monster Slayer thought she was acting too much like a meek lamb, like his brother while the other thought the opposite. She was right though. Morpheus was going to force her to wake one way or another and it would be because he was bound. She wouldn’t do anyone any good and both brothers didn’t want to think about what the demon was planning to do. Physical torture was nothing but the mental and emotional; that could be what drove fragile alliances apart. Child of the Water then spoke, “We surmised this but we thought you should be aware. The queen did request for your help.”

“Well that is reassuring,” Angela replied. She looked down and sighed. After what happened with Dean before this… well it was a chance. She added, “I know someone but he might be reluctant. However he will do anything to help his brother.”

“We know about Sam. He sort of stumbled in on us.”

“More like breached security. If he wasn’t a confused human I would’ve ripped his lungs out.”

Child of the Water elbowed his brother. “He stumbled in and we sent him back.”

“He always did know how to stumble onto things,” Angela replied with a slight smile. “Well they both do and I have to save their sorry asses.” She gave a chuckle at some random memory. The charred house was still there. She looked up at the ‘sky’ in her usual way of discerning time. Not that it would have done any good since she was unconscious and the ‘sky’ could be anything. Still she could sense something and a faint noise. Oh yeah they were really trying to wake her up. The visit from the brothers she found to be something of a relief. She could face whatever they wanted. She looked at the one who was most like Sam and said, “Looks like they’re still trying. I always did love to piss off a demon.” She gave a wry smile.

Child of the Water thought that he was looking at his brother when she gave that smirk. It was like she was the balance between them or something. Then again she was what she was. He nodded and said, “We will go now.”

“Hey don’t stick around on my account. Just make sure Sam finds Dean,” Angela replied as she turned to walk through a hole in the wall.

The brothers watched her go out to face the same thing again. Monster Slayer scoffed and muttered, “Certainly a glutton for punishment.” He then turned to walk in the direct they came in. They came and warned her. Whether she remembered or not snapping out of it was another thing. When he noticed that his brother didn’t follow he turned and called back, “Hey! What gives? You need a special invitation now?”

Child of the Water gave a slight eye roll and turned to follow his brother. Maybe it was gluttony for punishment and possibly for things she felt responsible for. Yet it seemed like she was willing to suffer as long as whatever they planned to do would help Sam and Dean. It took courage and maybe that was why Courage left the realm.

****

Sam stared straight ahead into the darkness as the car made its way to the ranch. He didn’t bother to look at Bobby since he knew that the old hunter was still pissed about his decision. After Natalia explained a few things since the old man refused to talk in English after Austin mentioned that he understood and spoke it fluently, he agreed to go to the ranch and do whatever needed to be done. It was a risk he was willing to take though Bobby did point out that Dean would beat his ass into next year if he found out he did something stupid.

Sam tried to rationalize that Bobby would do the same to Dean if it had been his brother who made the choice. That didn’t help much in his case since that only seemed to make Bobby grumble more. Sam did have to admit that he didn’t like being manhandled by the old man and the request he made was out of there but he did have a length of trust for Natalia. She had no reason to lie about anything and she had been a victim of the demons that started all this.

“Idjit.”

Sam sighed, “You’ve been calling me that the last ten minutes Bobby.”

“It’s better than any other names I have for ya.”

“I could probably name a few,” Sam muttered to himself before saying out loud, “Bobby, just give this a shot. If something else is working with the demon…”

“Still idiotic,” Bobby retorted. “We don’t even know this guy and you want to let him put you down?”

“How could it hurt?” It was a low blow for Sam to say what came next since he knew that Bobby had started to develop a soft spot for her. “Besides she would have done it.”

Bobby grumbled knowing that Sam was right. He then replied, “I know but Sam how do you even know what you are doing once you’re in there, wherever there is?”

Sam shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. The last two times I was pulled in… I think that is what she would have called it.”

“Last two times?”

“The first time was when Dean and I met Angie and her friend from that school I mentioned before. I had no idea what was going on until she started talking about dream walking and a dream king. She kicked me out.”

“Kicked you out?”

“A little bit of mojo. The bastard we were after was good at attacking people in their dreams. The second time was after you guys found me in the alley.” Sam shrugged his shoulders again as he started thinking about everything that had been uncovered so far. He put his hand into his coat pocket and touched the sachet.

After reading Angela’s journal and giving up on figuring out if there was any more to the discussion between her and John Winchester, he looked through her books to identify the herbs. It surprised him when he didn’t find it under a list of herbs and there uses, which was like reading an encyclopedia. He did find it under a section of her book, handwritten by her, labeled smudging.

As it turned out, the herbs in this sachet were used as cleansing herbs, in particular the white sage. Juniper in the state it was in was used mostly as protection. Upon reading that, it began to make sense why Dean would suddenly go back to normal. He had been standing in close proximity to his brother. The smell was pretty strong and Dean would have smelled it but he probably wouldn’t have noticed it. Then what happened in that store, it was like something had happened while Dean and Bobby were out there. Bobby did mention that Dean found some sort of weird powder in a rock. It wasn’t sulfur but what if…?

Then there was the kidnapping of Angela. The door and windows were salted down and warded. So the only way for someone to break into that room would be to pick the lock and be human. When the realization struck Sam, he tried hard to control his breathing. It would be easy to tell himself that Dean was not himself if he did it but a nagging thought occurred to Sam that deep down Dean knew exactly what he did and why.

Dean may be impulsive at times but he was also careful and deliberate. Sam knew that his brother and Angela didn’t get along at first. Thinking about it, it was as if she had been goading Dean into a fight that time. She didn’t do that now and it seemed that she and Dean enjoyed teasing each other and bantering back and forth. So the question boiled down to what would provoke Dean into doing this. There were only three things that Dean could get emotionally sensitive about and that was Mom, Dad and him.

As far as Sam knew, Angela never mentioned knowing their parents except when she blurted out Dad’s name and that was when she was drunk. He didn’t learn more until he read her journal and then quizzed her about it. Dean didn’t know anything. So the reason why was still a sticking point and to top it off, the old man mentioned something about a powerful being involve… as if they didn’t have enough regarding demons and the like.

“Sam?”

The question was followed by a smack to the back of the head and Sam looked in the direction of the culprit and scowled, “What was that for Bobby?”

“Don’t take that tone with me boy. You were ignoring me. So tell me what was so damned important that you had to zone out everything?” Bobby didn’t look over as he rounded the last curve, following the battered pickup. It wouldn’t be long now until they got to the place.

“I’d say that he was deep in thought and frankly the bitching you two were doing earlier over this was getting on my nerves,” Austin called from the backseat where he had been in a light doze while surveying the two hunters.

“Well no one was asking you,” Bobby retorted. “Don’t make me invoke the rule about shutting your pie hole.” He turned back to pay attention and just in time to avoid hitting a rut that while shallow would still be enough to get the car stuck. That would make this day be a lot worse and Bobby didn’t know if there was anything worse than that.

“You mean the one where the driver picks the music and passengers shut their pie hole? If that’s the case then I would be disinclined to acquiesce to your request,” Austin replied a little saucily. He knew how to push the old man’s buttons. To add insult to injury, he added, “It means no.”

Sam snickered. Dean was usually the one who invoked movie lines to his advantage but to hear them coming from someone else was weird. In Austin’s case, it was funny since he had a refined look about him even though it was a devil may care attitude. He decided to stop it before it got out of hand and he said, “Just thinking Bobby. Putting pieces together.”

“So you turned on the research brain. What a joy,” Austin interjected.

“Shut up vamp. That offer about decapitation still stands,” Bobby retorted.

“That would be a problem would it?” Austin smirked aware that he wasn’t helping the situation. Frankly he was annoyed at the fact that they were not going to where he suspected Angela was being held at all but to partake in some dream walking ritual. He didn’t see the purpose of it but was willing to go along with it since Sam seemed dead set on doing it. “I personally don’t have anything against having a brain. It’s as just as important as the brawns on this job.”

Sam shook his head in half amusement and annoyance. His attempts at changing the subject were being shot down every time Austin opened his mouth. Glancing at Bobby, he could make out the ghost of a grin on his face as Austin continued to banter with the grizzled hunter. He should’ve know but he had been too busy thinking about Dean and the case to notice that the nickering was their way of dealing with the situation and well being… friends? Sam was glad when he saw the lights of the ranch show up against the night.

****

The room was small and if Dean had been around, he would have made some stupid comment about Sam’s height and tiny places. Sam did have to admit that it was slightly uncomfortable and mostly it was because more than the required amount of people was trying to squeeze into the place. He sighed as he watched Bobby argue with the old man saying that he wasn’t going to leave him and blah, blah, blah. He glanced at Natalia who was seating across from him and tending the fire. She gave him an apologetic look and went about tying herbs together to make a stick like thing. She had already made one and was working on a second. He asked, “Planning on burning something?”

Natalia glanced outside as Bobby and Uncle still argued with Austin playing referee. Even Nana was out there trying to explain what was going on. It was going to be a while. She might as well explain to Sam what was going on since he was the one assuming the risk. “These are smudge sticks. Smudging is important when my people prepare for rituals.”

“To cleanse an area right?”

Natalia gave a grin, “Highest marks. One of these is a cleansing one. I assume that you have already found what Nana left in your jacket pocket earlier which is why you have some idea what is going on.”

Sam pulled out the sachet from his pocket not noticing that the little wooden animal fell out too. He opened it and pulled out the sprig of juniper and white sage. He said, “It makes sense when Dean became his usual self.”

Natalia nodded, “White sage drives out negative energies and is used to purify sacred places. We use it every year for the Sun Dance in combination with sweetgrass. Juniper is a purifier too but when placed in a medicine pouch it brings protection.” She inspected the stick she was making and picked up a long piece of leather thong and began wrapping the string tightly to hold it together.

“That could be why Dean snapped out of it… but didn’t it work back at the store?” Sam asked the question more to himself as he thought about it.

“Perhaps the demon used something stronger. It is possible and what Nana gave you was designed to be used by one person.” Natalia shrugged her shoulders as she finished tying off the stick. She picked up some more herbs to make the last stick.

Sam could understand that. The old woman seemed to like to watch him a lot and she was a bit bossy when it came to making him drink that tea. What Natalia said made sense. Bobby did mention that Dean found that powder and maybe that was a stronger dose of whatever it was or something. It was vaguely reminiscent of the Croatoan virus case that he and Dean were involved in. He had been immune to the virus and that was when Dean mentioned that he might have to kill him. That thought hadn’t entered his mind for some time now with everything going on…

Natalia watched as Sam sat deep in thought. Something must be worrying him besides his brother and friend. It probably had something to do what had been done to them when they were six months old. She knew that she had questions about why she had been chosen and the like. Who wouldn’t? She kept her head down and she worked on her third stick while she said, “Whatever has happened will be made right again though you might have to bring your brother here to be smudged.”

Sam couldn’t help but snort at that. Dean would complain about smelling like a girl with all the herbs and make some flirty comments if Natalia did it. He replied, “A good idea and one that I can just imagine.”

At that moment the old man came in followed by Bobby. Bobby took a seat next to Sam and said, “Well I finally got granpa over there to let me stay. Said it was customary for the walker to have someone watch over… whatever that means.”

The old man then started speaking in his language. Sam wondered if it was all part of the ceremony or he was doing it just to annoy Bobby. Natalia began to translate, “To begin, the area and the walker must be purified.”

The old man took up one of the sticks that Natalia had made and started the burning process. Once the herbs were smoking, he began cleansing the area. Once that was completed, he beckoned Sam first to stand and started at his feet and moved up, passing the stick back and forth and had Sam turn clockwise to go down his back.

The smell of the burnt herbs was overpowering and Sam recalled smelling them before. It was that night he and Angela had that conversation about the demon Lenya. It was on his thoughts when the old man did the same thing to Natalia and Bobby. All the while the old man was chanting in his language and passing the stick back and forth. Once he gave Sam a slight poke and motioned that he should clear his thoughts.

Once the old man was finished, he picked up a second stick. He began chanting and Natalia quickly explained, “Mugwort. It is used to promote awareness and dreams.” She said it in a whisper so as not to interrupt the chant.

The old man then instructed Sam to breathe it in as he passed it over him. Sam obeyed as it passed over his face. While the old man was going down his back, his head felt muggy and his eyes started to become heavy. The last thing he saw was Bobby looking down at him.


	14. Chapter 14

Sam opened his eyes to find himself in a place that looked familiar. He looked around the room and found that there was nothing special about it. It was nondescript and a bit run down like the cheap ass motels he and Dean stayed in. He could make out the bad taste in décor and crummy chairs that looked like it would collapse if he sat in them. On the table was his laptop flipped open and the duffles were in their usual places. There were only two things missing…

“Never seen a room look like this before.”

Sam turned around to find that Natalia was standing there and he frowned, “What are you doing here?”

Natalia seriously wondered that herself since she had only started learning again but the old man said that a guide was needed. Right now she needed to keep Sam calm. She replied, “Um… I forgot to mention one part of this. When someone dream walks, they have someone to show them the way as a means of putting into focus what the dreamer sees.”

“So you’re a guide then?”

“More or less.”

Sam raised his brows as if he were going to draw out the word ‘okay’ and put his hands on his hips. He turned back around and looked at the room. So the old man said that someone wanted to see him. Was he supposed work his way through a maze? This was one of those times that he wished Dean were here. Even if he didn’t know what was going on, he gave that reassuring presence. The same could be said for Angela and she knew more about this dream walking business. Either one would have helped.

“I think I understand,” Natalia interjected. At Sam’s look, she explained, “We are in the right place but it manifested itself into something that you would be familiar with. I guess for you it is a crappy motel room.”

“Looks like it,” Sam replied as he looked around. While Natalia was explaining he finally recognized the motel room they were in. It was the one in Grant, right before the next one where it all started. It was strange since there was nothing about this room that would be foremost on his mind. “Why this one?”

“You made it. Must have some significance to you,” Natalia replied as she looked around the place. It certainly reminded her of the one she found Sam in.

Looking around, Sam paced around. The room was empty and there was only one reason why it would be. He went to the door and opened it and stepped out of the room. The Impala was where it was supposed to be as he walked to the room next door. He opened it and there were her things. There was a flush in the bathroom and she came out. She gave a look and said, “Good, you made it.”

Sam was puzzled. This wasn’t how that night happened. He glanced at Natalia who was watching with interest. When he caught her eye, she urged him to interact. Sam looked back and ventured, “Made it for what?”

“For our meeting that’s what,” a second voice sounded.

“Dean? Did Angie help you?” Sam motioned to the first speaker.

The two that Sam had been talking to looked at each other with knowing looks. The second speaker grinned and said, “Wow, I never thought that someone would see you as a girl. Then again you always were one.”

The first one replied, “Up yours.”

“Nice retort.”

Sam frowned in confusion. He wondered if he was going crazy watching the two people that he was trying to find argue over something stupid as if nothing happened. He said, “What are you talking about?”

The first one who spoke gave a glare at the second before looking back at Sam and replied, “We aren’t who you think we are. My brother and I asked to speak with you.”

“Brother?”

The second who looked like Dean spoke up, “To put it short, I’m Monster Slayer at least that’s one of my names and the girl here is my younger brother. You can call him Child of the Water.” He smirked as he said it and the grin got bigger when he saw his brother scowl at him. It always was fun to tease his brother and the look on Sam’s face was priceless.

Natalia chose the moment to speak, “So you two are the warrior brothers. You’re known for traveling the world and ridding the world of monsters. You’re the ones that wanted to see the walker?”

The image shivered and the brothers replaced the persons that Sam had seen. At first he wasn’t sure if he should be freaked out or go into hunting mode and gank them. He asked, “How is it that I could see you as…”

Child of the Water explained, “My brother and I were born to protect the world. We are two halves of a whole in terms of personalities and are often seen in sibling pairs.”

“Right, Pup here is the steady one,” Monster Slayer interjected using the nickname he knew his brother would hate.

“And you are impulsive,” Child of the Water retorted. Looking back at Sam he added, “I’m sure this sounds familiar.”

To Sam it did. It was like seeing him and Dean rib each other over things. The nicknames and insults along with the teasing. It occurred to him that it was also like when he watched Dean and Angela banter back and forth. Yet he could swear that Angela was more like Dean at times but then again she was a steady influence.  He gave a slight shrug and replied, “It does. Now could you tell me why I was to come here?”

Monster Slayer started laughing. He looked at his brother and said, “Right down to business just like you, Pup.”

Child of the Water glared at his brother. There were times that he wished he could just kick his brother’s ass for his smart comments. Even after eons that stupid nickname made him angry. He was calm though. Now was not the time for it. They had been asked by the queen to rescue her brother but they were limited. They spoke to Absolution and she was not in a position to help even if she wanted to. This was the way to go. He said, “We need your help.”

****

Bobby sat feeling that he was at the moment a useless old man. He gazed down at Sam who appeared to be in a deep sleep. He looked over and saw the girl Natalia in the same state. He had been against this but as Sam put it, it was his decision. The best thing Bobby could do was watch out for Sam.

When the old man started waving that strange smelling herb that knocked Sam out, Bobby’s first reaction was panic. He managed to catch the boy and lay him back down on the animal skin rugs while the old man did the same to Natalia and when she fell, he was able to catch her and lay her down. Now the longest part was going on: the waiting.

During the wait, the old man took the time to explain that he was to wave the stick of mugwort every fifteen minutes over Sam, particularly the head. Bobby was not completely up to date with herbs but he was aware that this particular herb was used to promote psychic awareness and dreams. It smelled strange dried but when burned…

Sam started to twitch slightly. Bobby quickly turned his attention to him to see if anything was wrong. Sam’s movements were like the kind when someone was deep in a dream. To Bobby it looked like he might be having a nightmare. It wouldn’t be uncommon especially if the surroundings Sam decided to conjure up consisted of bad memories. Bobby hoped that Natalia would at least be able to keep Sam’s head in the game.

Sam twitched again and the old man grunted. That was the signal for Bobby to wave the smudge stick over him. Fifteen minutes had already passed and yet it felt like a life time. Bobby picked up the stick and watching the old man’s movements, he imitated them wafting the smoke over Sam’s body. When he got to the head, he watched as Sam’s nose twitched and gradually he stopped twitching and fell into a deep slumber.

_What are ya doing in there boy?_

****

“So you’re saying that the Greek god Morpheus has been captured and is now being used to torment my friend and you two can’t do anything about it?” Sam narrowed his eyes to make sure that he heard right.

“It’s an issue of the balance of energy.”

Sam raised his brow in a skeptical glance. Generally most creatures and even demi gods were not concerned with such a thing. He was willing to listen but this did sound farfetched. He replied, “So you’re saying that you two are powerful but you can’t take out several demons much less one? I thought you two were slayers of monsters?”

“We are Sammy,” Monster Slayer replied. “Thing is we patrol the gates between your realm and that place you people call hell. Heck Pup here and I have been down there in order to rescue our father. If you studied Mayan I would be called Hunaphpu and he would be Xbalanque and I tell ya it’s not an easy job… something I’m sure you’re familiar with.”

Sam let the nickname slide. It would be like talking to Dean anyway. He couldn’t understand why they couldn’t do this themselves. He knew that at least that it could help Angela but what about Dean? Was there something else he could do?

As if his thoughts were being read, the older warrior brother said, “Freeing Morpheus will free your friend and then you both could take out the demons influencing your brother. From my understanding, the three of you do a nice job in taking down the fiends.” Then he decided to drop the clincher but he didn’t stop to consider the reaction. He added, “She said that we were to make sure you find Dean.”

If Sam hadn’t been convinced before, then he certainly was. Only Angela would say something like that and that meant she was somewhere in here. He asked, “You saw Angie then? Where is she?”

“You can’t do anything about that now. Right now you need to help us free Morpheus and the only way to do it is from this realm,” Monster Slayer replied, brushing it aside as if it were nothing. He wasn’t cruel however and explained, “She can’t help you and more likely she has already left this place. Whatever the demons plan to do, they want her awake for that though she is pissing them off by resisting.”

Sam couldn’t help but give a slight grin. She had a way of doing that and doing things her own way and in her own time. Since it seemed like the only way for this to end was to go through with the proposed plan. However Sam wasn’t sure if he wanted to stick around longer in this place. He replied, “Alright so if we do help you, how do you propose we break this spell?”

“We? What we?” Monster Slayer narrowed his eyes suspiciously and stepped in front of his brother. Sometimes humans were tricky and this one was no exception if he was using the word ‘we’. He and his brother would take him to where he had to travel but after that, he would be on his own. That was the plan.

Natalia had been listening to the whole conversation and watching the warrior brothers. It was true that they could kill the monsters. She could understand the whole balance of energy explanation since Nana had taught her that when she was a little girl. She was also aware that dream walkers had to go through such things alone as a test of their endurance and character. It was related to the rites of passage of her people and the Plains people in seeking out their spirit animals in order to determine what they would be as contributing members of the tribe. She saw that Sam may have inadvertently offended the elder brother and the elder brother might have misunderstood what Sam meant. Quickly she spoke up, “He means our companions. The ones he is trying to find have other friends and they wish to help.”

The response mollified Monster Slayer as he gazed at the girl. Ever since this whole conversation had started, she hadn’t said a word and it had been easy to forget her. Now that she had spoken, attention was brought to her. It didn’t take for the older sibling to realize that the girl was just like Sam in terms of the whole demon thing. She also had her people’s heritage going for her. That may be the reason why the chatter was full of bitching about losing one of them and finding it in this hell hole. He replied, “It is generally discouraged in allowing multiple people to walk through the journey. Guides are an exception.”

“What if I did it and Sam and everyone else go to the place on the physical realm?” Natalia ventured. So far they had only asked Sam to do it. She could tell that Sam would rather be out there physically helping his brother. She could give him that and she suspected he would better know what to do out there than in here. “One needs to go through right? I could do it.”

“Are you crazy Natalia?” Sam looked at Natalia with a raised brow. She had a kid. Why would she risk it?

Natalia began to reason, “Think about it Sam. You know about fighting demons I know more or less this place. You’ll be in a position to find your brother and once this is taken care of, your friend.” She saw that he was going to protest and she added, “This is important. If it isn’t taken care of now, then worse could come.”

Sam debated internally. Dad did have certain rules about involving ‘civilians’ but this was hardly the case. Natalia had been taken in and she knew that there were things out there that could kill you worse than what humans could do to each other. He just didn’t like the fact that she had a kid and was taking a risk.

“If you’re worried about Jerry, he’ll be fine. He will be raised by my people.”

Sam sighed. There really was no arguing given the way that Natalia had her jaw set. He wondered if it was the curse of Winchester luck to be stuck with women in particular who could say something and you obeyed. He replied, “Alright. Say if you do go through this, how will we know it is done?”

“That I could explain,” Child of the Water piped up surprised that the girl was volunteering for this. It wasn’t as expected but still it could work and he and his brother could give guidance. He started, “The spell aside from its purpose is kept here in the dream realm simply because there are not many who would know where to look. Fortunately we do and we can guide you there.”

Sam turned to face the brothers. He said, “So you’ll be guides?”

“Within our means Sammy,” Monster Slayer replied.

Sam could buy that. Just as long as Natalia didn’t pay for it in the end… well he was okay with it as long as maybe a short leash. It wasn’t ideal and Bobby and Dean would have his ass for letting this happen but what the hell was he going to do when she was dead set on doing it and she had that no nonsense attitude like Missouri? He replied, “Alright. So what has to be done? That way we know when to go in since I am assuming this god can be made to go after us.”

“Well…”

****

Bobby was getting impatient. Nearly an hour and a half passed since Sam went under. He didn’t like it and a glance over at the calm nature of the old man didn’t help none. At least the kid was still breathing and it looked like he was in a deep sleep. In fact that was the deepest sleep he had seen either of the brothers since they stayed with him after their father died. That could be a plus if his body felt that it was well rested.

A glance at his watch told Bobby that it was time for another dose of that stuff. He picked up the stick that was still undergoing the slow burn and thought that it was one of the smelliest things that he had ever smelled. He certainly wasn’t going to think about using this stuff if he ever had to go dream walking himself. He might just stick with African dream root. He held his stick frowning and wondered why neither he nor the old man was under.

“Chant not said over you.”

Bobby glanced over at the old man who had picked up his stick. So that was the reason though Bobby suspected that it had something to do with Sam’s psychic abilities and since discovering that Natalia was just like him… well it made sense. His watch beeped at the fifteen minute mark and he started to wave the stick over Sam.

When he got to the face, he was thoroughly started when Sam’s eyes shot wide open like something out of those cheap horror flicks. All that came out of Sam was a gasp of air.

Bobby stopped what he was doing and dropped the stick to help Sam sit up. The old man was doing the same for Natalia though she was much more calm about waking up. Bobby did a check on Sam asking questions until Sam said, “I’m fine Bobby.”

“Don’t sass me boy. You’ve been out for nearly an hour and a half so excuse me if I ask a few seemingly pointless questions,” Bobby retorted back.

Sam frowned in confusion and asked, “We were out that long? It seemed longer than that.”

“Time passes differently in other realms, Sam,” Natalia said as she sat up and assumed a respectful sitting position as if nothing was wrong.

The old man added, “She is right. How do you feel?”

Sam took a moment to think about it. He rotated his limbs to make sure that they weren’t stiff. He had been running on fumes and yet it felt like he had a full night’s sleep, probably the longest he had since Dad died. “Feels like I had a good night’s sleep even though I was wide awake in that place.”

The old man muttered in approval. “That is good. A journey as such in the dream world allows the body to rest. Something I suspect you needed.”

Sam gave a sheepish nod and tried to stand up but was hindered by Bobby and would have said something but let it pass. Instead he let the grizzled hunter haul him to his feet and led the way out to find Austin. Natalia was going to explain things to the old man and her grandmother and join them. He almost ignored Bobby as he followed him out to look for signs of the vampire.

He found Austin hanging around the stables petting the horse he had seen earlier and another that could be related to it due to the coloring. Focusing on Austin, Sam asked, “How good are you at scouting?”

Austin had gone to the stables to endure the wait after convincing Bobby that Sam would be okay. Of course Bobby would probably rather have a tea party with a demon than listen to anything he had to say but then again the elder hunter had healthy suspicion and Austin had made it clear that he liked that. Besides he needed something to do and while tempted to come up with a plan of attack and say that was the game plan, he would rather have Sam’s input from his experience.

Petting the colts was a sure way to organize his thoughts as he focused on the layout of the abandoned property that he was sure the demons inhabited. He could recall the layout of the defenses and the patrols and that was after spending a couple of hours searching the hills for ideas. He had a plausible plan when Sam came into the stables asking his question. Austin had been looking down and when he looked up, the sudden change in the light had his eyes flicker. He was impressed that Sam didn’t flinch as he replied, “Are you speaking of the honest scouting that say a soldier would do or are you referring to the kind about sneaking in, setting a couple of traps and providing a distraction so that the cavalry rushes in?”

Sam was sure that the vampire was doing this on purpose or he really wanted to know what he would be doing. Funny thing was that Angela did the same thing only she was funnier about it and he liked her version. He glanced at Bobby who was waiting by the door looking at the vampire with an annoyed look and then back. He decided to dish it back to the vamp and replied, “I’m talking about the kind that goes in and pretends to be one of them in order to set said traps and cause a disruption.”

Austin couldn’t help it and let out a laugh. Child of the Water gave a reproachful rumble while his brother gave a playful nudge. He rubbed their noses as he leaned against the wall tat separated their stalls. He replied, “Then I’m in. It’s been a while since I’ve created subterfuge. So what do you have in mind?”

Sam replied, “Still got your map?”

Austin grinned and gave a short laugh. He was liking the younger Winchester every moment that they interacted. He replied, “Yeah,” and pulled it out of his pocket. “I’m sure that the girl will want to be here for this?”

“That’s why I came to find you,” Sam replied.

“Then lead on.”

****

Monster Slayer looked at his brother as they traveled to the meeting point. The meeting could be considered somewhat successful. It was true that they didn’t exactly get Sam Winchester to be the one to free the queen’s brother but he was going to be instrumental in the battle anyway and it was true that the girl did know more about the dream realm… but not as much as Absolution.

“You’re comparing again.”

Monster Slayer scowled. His brother could always tell when he was deep in thought about something and especially if he was comparing the dream walkers that came through. Then again he could always tell when his brother was hiding something. They really couldn’t keep that many secrets from each other. He replied, “Well it’s true that none of the dream walkers could compare to Absolution. She’s probably banked more time here than anyone and that’s not counting the times she was brought here on the whims of others.”

“And you never miss a chance to flirt with her when she is summoned here by Morpheus.”

“It’s hard not to,” Monster Slayer pouted as they continued to the meeting point. “Even the gods have said that she has a special beauty.” He looked at his brother who was giving him a look. If it had been Sam and Dean, it would have been Sam’s bitch face. He sighed and added, “Look I know she already is taken. They just don’t know it yet.”

“You know do you?”

“Of course I know. Come on Pup. It’s obvious even to you and I sort of did a little small test while people weren’t looking.” At the look on his brother’s face, he scowled, “Come on. We’re a part of the same thing and I had to be sure about them.”

“Perv.”

“Bitch,” Monster Slayer smirked at his brother. He was more knowledgeable in name calling and could go all day while they were waiting and then the plan would be on. He had to hand it to Sam and his idea and he hoped that it worked out in the end for all of them.


	15. Chapter 15

Angela was tired of everything. The nightmare/dreams she could handle. The damn dream king had put her through plenty of them claiming that it was good practice for her. Every so often ever since her powers manifested, he pulled her in and set her on her ‘tests’. It was the hallucinations that were making her exhausted. In the beginning she was able to tell that they weren’t real and she basically told O’Brien to stick it where the sun don’t shine.

Now it was beginning to get harder to tell the difference between reality and illusion especially now that the dream king pulled out that which she kept buried deep. The dream king had been reluctant to do it but she knew that it was not his fault which was why she said he was forgiven. In return, he had tried to go easy and even replayed a few that she had already seen but that was not going to keep.

“You’re resilience is quite impressive. I could say that you have been put through this before.”

Angela shot her head up wincing as she did. A quick glance at her wrists and she could see the welts on them and the open blisters and the blood oozing out. That was going to be a problem to explain if she ever got out of this mess. At the moment though, she was focused on the voice that had just spoken. She looked around even though her head was woolly and thick with a drug like feeling and replied, “What can I say? I’m gifted.”

The owner of the voice laughed. “Always ready with a joke I see. Do you use humor to hide your true feelings?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Angela was sure she had heard that voice before but it sounded distorted. Whatever they injected her with was interfering with her senses. It was nothing like what the dream king put her through. She gave her head a shake and added, “Besides people always said I was a funny one.”

The voice laughed again and then stepped into her line of vision. He watched as her eyes widened and then narrowed in confusion. He guessed she would be confused since he had to switch meat suits but he was the same. He grinned as he stared down at her. He said, “Confused are we?”

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

“I know you must be thinking: ‘I saw him die. I saw him kill him. How could that be?’” The demon then bent over until his face was close to Angela’s. He gazed into the orbs that were clouded by the little ‘treatment’ and gave a slow smile. He then said, “Yes it’s true. Your precious Sam didn’t kill me like you think.”

Angela narrowed her eyes as it dawned on her who it was talking to her. She narrowed her eyes and returned the gaze with one of her own. A single word came out of her mouth, “Ramos.”

The demon laughed at her. Standing up straight and replied, “That is the name of the meat suit that was mine for a while. At the last minute I upgraded. I daresay I like this one much more.” He looked at the captive and watched as she continued to glare at him. He could tell that it was taking much effort into maintaining that level of anger. So maybe just being in his presence does affect her. “Surely you know my name? No?” In a mocking gesture, he held out his hand, “Rhagos is my name.”

Angela glared and on an impulse she spit on the proffered hand. She refused to say anything to that demon. It hit her the moment he started taunting her about her thoughts and the like. It had been a set up and she handed Sam right over to them. She had failed again. What was John thinking when he asked that of her?

As if her thoughts had been projected, the object of her thoughts appeared like a shimmer. She couldn’t help the hitch in her breath. He sauntered just as he used to make his entrance at the meeting points. She shut her eyes and opened them again to find that he wasn’t going away as easily as the others. He stood there looking at her with that look he always did but it was different. “John?”

John Winchester looked at the one that he once called friend. He continued to smile at Angela. After she said his name, he finally spoke. He said, “You were supposed to watch out for them. You promised.” His face warped into one that was of anger and hatred.

Angela watched as the face that she had seen show so much love for his boys turn into something that was a mockery of it. She felt her breath hitch. This was much worse than seeing the image of Mary with a bloody hole in her middle. Mary’s death was terrible and she still harbored the belief that she had failed somehow to protect her. The truth of the matter was that she knew why the demon had come there. Eventually she had told John about it and she actually waited for a blow to be delivered and stood facing him eyes open but it never came. They went along as always but she suspected that the things he asked of her were a means of her paying back the debt until he looked at her the day he asked for her help to summon Yellow Eyes. Then she knew. She looked up at John and replied, “I did promise. I kept it as well as I could and still am.”

John laughed at her and Angela cringed at the sound. He then said, “If you did your job we wouldn’t be here now would we? In fact I wouldn’t be doing this job.”

Inwardly Angela knew that John was dead but there were ways to bring back the dead. She wouldn’t put it past Rhagos or Ramos or whatever the damn demon wanted to call himself to do something like that. Yet to see John Winchester standing there looking alive and not to mention the drugs in her system… it was very real. She replied, “You’re right. If I had been there that November night in 1983, I could’ve stopped him. Then you would have your family with you.”

“That’s right I would have had them with me,” John replied. He moved over and pulled a chair over so that he could sit in front of Angela. “You know I never understood why you two were close. I mean you aren’t even human.”

“Half human.”

“Still not human,” John countered the protest. “Cause you see, a human wouldn’t release a demon from the pit. Yet you did and that demon was allowed to do things to kids even to my boy Sam. So everything that I told Dean he might have to do is your doing.”

“I was tricked into releasing Yellow Eyes,” Angela protested. Normally it would have sounded aggressive but now it sounded feeble. It was like a kid trying to explain themselves for why they broke mom’s favorite vase. “I was young then. Surely you understand the mistakes a child can make. Remember the striga?”

“You shut up. You don’t know anything about that!”

Angela turned to see the person who joined John and her eyes widened in surprise. They narrowed quickly as she began to pick up on something. She could smell it. Puzzled she asked, “Dean what are you doing here?”

Dean gave a glare and no indication that he could see John. He just stood there toying with the gun that he had been carrying since he and Bobby had gone out earlier. He didn’t respond but John did, “As you can see, he is here to learn the truth. You always did say that I should tell the truth especially about what I found out.”

Angela renewed her struggles aware that she was cutting deep with the ropes but she could feel the arms of the chair weakening. She looked at Dean and said, “Dean, whatever they have been telling you, you know you could ask me and I would tell you the truth. You know that I will answer any questions especially about your dad.”

“You haven’t answered anything honestly with me but you have been spending quite a bit of time with Sam.” Dean returned with a glare. Ever since he had been brought here after the fire, he had been listening to her ramblings about failures and watched her talking to people that weren’t even there and learned more than he did from the files Ramos showed him. “You know I think you want to turn him and hand him over.”

Angela scowled at that. Dean was starting to sound like a few of the deranged hunters she had come across when she first discovered the special cases as she called them. She replied, “You know that I would never do that.”

“How do I know that Angie? You’ve only been with us for a short while.”

John was sitting there grinning at the exchange. He said, “You know he has a point. It doesn’t help your case with you disappearing to handle things. Why don’t you tell Dean here what really went on that day in the hospital? About the deal?”

Angela felt like she was going crazy. She had Dean standing there with John and Dean couldn’t see his father or he was that good of an actor. It did give her some clue that John was a hallucination or a spirit but logic dictated that people could see spirits. It was a vicious cycle going on in her mind as she jiggled the armrests of the chair. She replied, “He knows that you made a deal to save him.”

“But how do you know that Angie unless you were already there?” Dean gave that hard look he gave when he was focused on the kill.

Angela turned back to look at Dean, “Of course I was there stupid Winchester.” The insult popped automatically and she pulled against her restraints. “You want answers from me?”

“I want the truth.”

Angela could see the telltale signs of anger and rage. She looked around and saw Rhagos just grinning at her as he rotated a band around his finger. He was the rage demon and he was inciting the anger between them. She wondered if he had done something to Dean. It would certainly explain why he didn’t do anything unless he was given a direction. She moved to get a better look and she directed her next question to the demon, “What did you do to him?”

Rhagos grinned at her and replied, “Come now, you know the nature of the demon hierarchies. I don’t do anything that isn’t already there. I merely take the anger and crank up the juice.” He walked over and placed his arm around Dean who hadn’t moved. “You see it was easy to get to Dean here since he probably still has anger issues over daddy and then there is you. You who seems to know everything but not telling… well except maybe to Sam and I think he is jealous of that.” Rhagos then patted Dean on the back. “It didn’t take much to make friends with him as Ramos and of course give a little incentive to try out the new formula.”

Angela stopped what she was doing. She was almost free. When she heard the last part something clicked. Did he have something to do with the Croatoan virus? She ventured, “Croatoan?”

Rhagos laughed, “That is just to amuse the boss for his larger plans. Something you have an inkling about. No this is the predecessor but with a slight variant. You see Dean is mind as long as the formula is in his system and it works in conjunction with my powers. What you have my dear is a concoction that puts to use your precious dream god’s most potent ability with that smelly plant mugwort. It’s all part of a plan and the boss said it was all for you to show you something. Now are you going to be good and tell Dean here what he wants to know?” Rhagos then gave Dean a pat on the arm.

Dean responded automatically, “The truth Angie.”

Angela glared at the demon and it was annoying her that John was still there. She then caught a glimpse of the dream god Morpheus. He had a look of regret on his face. In the pit of her stomach she realized that this was one of her worst fears: one or both Winchesters under the control of the enemy and she was powerless to stop it.

Well she was going to try. She looked at Dean and replied in a forceful tone, “What do you wish to hear Dean? That I was the one that summoned the demon? That I was there when the deal was made? That I watched your father die? Then the answer is yes to that.”

“See that wasn’t so hard,” John replied. “Now why don’t you tell the details about it?”

“Shut up,” Angela retorted. The pain was too much and she had to stop struggling. Her wrists were slippery with blood and at this rate, she would need to replenish it and in a way that she was loath to do so. She snapped, “You were the stupid one John. I told you not to make it just like her but you both didn’t listen. Stubborn the both of you and yet I understood why. I let you do it since I knew you wouldn’t listen and now you’re dead, Mary’s dead and your boys are probably heading down the same path and you want me to take the fall for it. Well fine go ahead. I didn’t survive the past five hundred years undergoing some stupid contest and fighting every nasty thing out there to take this crap from you or anybody.” She then looked at Dean, “And that includes you boy. You and your daddy issues and I felt bad that you didn’t have him around. Well boohoo. Then again your father was lousy at showing any form of affection. Maybe that’s why he chose to run away.”

The reaction was automatic from Dean. Without hesitation, he gave Angela a punch across the face. To her it was weak since she had been hit by ghosts and demons and any other creature you could think of. She looked at him and saw that she had touched a nerve. She replied to the punch, “Touched a nerve did I Dean? You know never once have I lied to you.”

“Is that a fact Angie?”

The fact that Dean was still calling her by her nickname was an encouragement of sorts. She replied, “Any time you asked me a question, I gave you the truth.”

Dean looked at Angela. He realized that he had just punched her across the face and felt bad that he did that. She did tell the truth. Didn’t she? He looked confused and stared for the longest time. Suddenly there was a noise outside and Angela turned to look but her view was constricted. Rhagos said, “Go and take care of them. A few choice dreams should put things into perspective.”

****

It was just like any other hunt except that it felt weird that Dean and Angela weren’t there to watch his back. It was funny, now that Sam thought about it, that he felt like she had always been a part of the team. Now the two people that he could count on were in trouble and he had to help them. He could only hope that this plan would work. Holding the shotgun in one hand and the Orion blade hanging from a strap over his shoulder, he waited and watched as his scout/spy did his job.

“Ya think this is going to work Sam?”

Sam kept his gaze forward and pulled out the binoculars and viewed through them. He replied, “It has to Bobby. The warrior brothers said that if Natalia does her part and the dream god is freed, he could help us.”

Bobby looked through his set of binoculars trying to pick out the cabin that their missing hunters would be in. “That is if she can do it.”

“I don’t like it either, Bobby and I would probably say the same thing if it were Angie going in and doing it but Natalia knows more than I do about it and her grandmother and the old man are knowledgeable.”

Bobby didn’t say anything but glanced at Sam as he lay on his stomach and viewed the compound. He caught a glimpse of the sword on his back and remembered when Sam showed it to him when they went back to the motel to get some weapons. Sam explained what it was and Bobby was wondering if the kid knew how to actually use it besides swinging it around like he would an iron poker. He said nothing and packed up and now they were waiting while that fool vampire was playing ninja and sneaking around to set up a diversion.

At the silence, Sam risked a glance at Bobby. Even with the craziness going on, he was glad Bobby was there. He said, “It’ll work out Bobby. I’m willing to bet that Angie is trying to get herself out. She’s good at doing that.”

“I hope so boy.”

Meanwhile Austin was pressed against the wall of a building. He had laid down some traps designed to slow down the demon patrols while Sam and Bobby went to arm up. He found it surprising that the younger Winchester was putting a lot of faith in him to set these traps and yet it was a bit gratifying that he wasn’t the type to shoot first and ask questions later. Maybe that was what Angela meant when she described her friendship with the boy’s mother.

Peering around the edge of the building, what looked like to be one of the stock rooms, Austin could make out the two demons that had been on patrol. It seemed odd that there were not that many demons about and that’s what worried him as he pulled out something from his jacket pocket. He had drawn a few traditional devils’ traps around and now he was working on a few means of slowing them down like salt lines and a few other tricks that he had trained in.

Realizing that he was not going to sneak by on the ground, he decided to take to the roofs. Taking a few steps back, he ran towards the wall of the shack he was hiding on. Leaping up, he pivoted off the wall and jumped onto the roof. He paused to make sure any noise he might have made was ignored. He saw what looked to be an old smithy that was within leaping distance and taking a running leap, jumped to it. He kept up his pace until he achieved everything that had been laid out per the battle plan.

Austin finally made it to where he needed to let off the beginning of the finale and waited. His perch was not exactly there but up on the roof, he wasn’t going to be seen. He looked over to where Sam and Bobby were waiting. In the dark of night, he could make them out easily. He gave a slightly wave and gave the signal that everything was set. Looking down at the ground he frowned. A guard was missing.

Sam had been following Austin whenever he was in his line of sight. He found it freaky that he could leap like that across rooftops but at this point, that was a minor thing. He saw Austin look right at him and give the signal that he was ready. He said, “That’s the signal Bobby.”

“Good but I think we might need to make a change of plans.”

Sam frowned and turned to look at Bobby saying, “What do you mean?”

He got his answer when he found Bobby looking behind them, staring up at a demon. Sam whirled around and saw a demon looking down at them, the black eyes like dark pools. He brought up his shotgun only to have him shot away along the ground where he rolled a ways before bouncing against a rock.

Bobby was the second to react and jumped up to tackle the demon. He was grabbed and flung aside. Luckily he wasn’t knocked out and he watched as the demon advanced to where Sam was on the ground trying to get up. He grabbed his own shotgun and was going to take aim when a hand came down on the gun and yanked it from his hand and he was yanked to face a second demon.

Sam groaned as he tried to get up. It didn’t take much when he was lifted and flung to be splayed on the wall of a nearby structure. It felt like something was holding his body down. As he tried to resist, it was like the strap became tighter. He looked at the demon who was holding him and he was joined by the one called Parker.

Parker looked at Sam with an amused expression. He wasn’t worried about the older hunter since the other guard was taking care of him. He said, “Sammy, Sammy, Sammy. I was afraid that you didn’t make it out of that fire. Imagine my surprise when I hear that you were actually a hero. Then again you pretty much are. Just not the kind that would make the newspapers.”

“Eat me,” Sam retorted. He could tell that the sword had fallen off his shoulder and was lying on the ground not too far away.

“My aren’t we in a bad mood and as much as I would like to do something like rip out your lungs and smear them all over this dump, you are more valuable alive,” Parker replied in mocking tones. His expression then got serious and he advanced towards Sam. “Now tell me where your friend is and maybe I won’t hurt you as much.”

Sam grunted as he struggled. He managed to catch Austin skirting around and advancing behind Parker. If he could hold out… “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Parker had expected that answer. He had orders but they were open to interpretation and he could always say that Sam attacked him. Without hesitation, he gave a hard punch to Sam’s stomach. “Now Sammy. You know I can tell that you are lying.” He swung again.

Sam grunted as the punches hit. He could hear Bobby struggling and saying something. When they stopped, he managed to take a moment to breathe. He looked up and saw that Austin was nowhere in sight. He wanted to curse at the thought that Austin abandoned them but he wasn’t willing to give up yet.

Parker looked at Sam as he was struggling to breathe. He’ll have some nasty bruises but he’ll live. He said, “Now Sammy. I know that must’ve hurt. Now if you don’t want that to happen again, you need to tell me what you plan to do and where your friend is hiding.”

“How about in plain sight?”

The new voice was enough to startle Parker and he whirled to come face to face with one of them. He didn’t have time to speak for the vampire swung a thick beam and it made contact with his chest, sending him flying right into a devil’s trap. Parker was trapped unless he could find a way to break the seal. He rapidly began to look for a means.

Austin looked like a pro baseball player as he followed through with the beam. The moment was quickly over when he launched forward at the other demon and collided with the wall of the building that Sam was suspended on. He managed to grab the portable trap he carried and slapped it against the demon’s chest and began reciting the words.

Sam felt himself fall to the ground after he watched as Austin charged into the other demon and went through the wall. He could hear the familiar sounds of Latin being recited and clambered to his feet. He looked through the hole to find Austin finishing the ritual and the demon was smoking out. Sam turned his attention to Bobby who was not having much luck in trying to punch out the demon. Somehow though Bobby managed to get the demon into one of Austin’s traps.

In the meantime, Parker managed to disrupt the trap he had been hit into. He saw the black smoke and started towards it. Pesky humans and that damned vampire. He was prepared for the rapid movements of the vampire as he put himself between him and the humans and countered by grabbing him and trying to throw him but the vampire held on and they collided into something. It created an explosion and Parker felt holy water splash him and he roared in pain and stumbled into another trap. He roared as the vampire moved to help the humans.

It was becoming something of a game as Sam and Bobby were being thrown about by the demon. It was halted when Austin grabbed the demon from behind and flung him aside. He asked, “You two all right?”

Bobby grumbled, “Whaddaya think? Idjit.” He got to his feet.

Sam was already on his feet and was going to say something when the door to one of the main buildings opened. He saw something emerge and frowned. “Austin, what is that?”

Austin turned to see the newcomer. The demon he had thrown aside joined the newcomer as he raised his hand. “Trouble.”


	16. Chapter 16

Natalia had never been dream walking before until she guided Sam during the meeting with the warrior brothers. Now she was on her own quest to free the dream god Morpheus. It hadn’t been easy to explain it to Nana and Old Mad Johnson but when she did, they accepted it and made the preparations to help her.

The plan was for her to meet the warrior brothers at the annex. She had no idea what that was but they were able to give her pointers on how to get there. She sat in the cabin that had been chosen and waited while Old Mad Johnson and Nana performed the cleansing rituals with the smudge sticks. She watched in fascination since they were preparing for a full on rite of passage ritual. It involved making sure that the area was completely cleansed and prayers for a safe journey and could prove lengthy. She could only hope that the brothers were not an impatient lot. Yet she did get the hint that the younger brother was more like Sam and she could guess that the other was like Dean. They did say that they were the embodiment of sibling pairs but she wondered if that was true for all of them.

She sat contemplating the plan that was supposed to occur. As far as she knew, she could expect all manners of things that were protecting the seal of the spell. They would most likely be designed to reflect fears, desires or be signed to confuse her. She could only hope that the brothers would be able to give pointers as guides. That was the exception to their being involved. While they couldn’t interfere directly, as guides, they could provide advice.

“Daughter, we are ready.”

Natalia nodded to her grandmother to indicate that she was ready. She sat still as they waved the smudge sticks of white sage and sweetgrass. The scent of the herbs was comforting and gave her courage. Almost as if it had heard her, the eagle she had seen earlier perched itself on the windowsill and looked in. It was reassuring and she smiled a bit. She looked at Nana and murmured in her language that she was ready again. She watched as they waved the necessary smudge sticks in the manner of the ceremony muttering the same words that Old Mad Johnson spoke before and she could feel her eyelids become heavy. Slowly she allowed them to close while she concentrated on the location she was supposed to be.

She really had no clue what it looked like so she focused on the name and hoped that would be enough. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a room with a stone basin in the center. It took much for Natalia not to laugh at the whole set up since some of these old things were probably an inspiration for Lord of the Rings. Instead she looked around for any sign of the brothers while looking at the basin.

“Finally. Pup here thought that you weren’t going to show.”

“Shut up,” Child of the Water replied.

Natalia couldn’t help but release a chuckle. She didn’t have siblings and to see them interact with each other especially like this was amusing. She sobered quickly and said, “Alright, I’m here now so where do we go from here?”

Monster Slayer gave a smirk and replied, “Well we can go anywhere.” He was prevented from saying more when his brother elbowed him. Scowling he amended what he said and added, “We can take you to where we found where the spell has been activated and pretty much locked in.”

Child of the Water added, “It was designed so that only a human could access it and it was made under the assumption that no human would.”

“Though why we are asking the help of humans tainted by demon blood…”

“They are still human.”

“Fine,” Natalia interrupted to prevent another argument. Obviously there were exceptions to the rules. Hell the proof was right in front of her since the brothers were coming along in a guiding capacity. “So is there anything you can tell me?”

That grabbed Monster Slayer’s attention away from the fact that he was about to engage in a wrestling match with his brother for just being annoying with technicalities. He turned his attention to the girl and replied, “We don’t know what is inside in terms of protecting the spell but there is a guardian. He wouldn’t tell us anything beyond the fact that only a human could go in the dream walk. He’s about as pushy as Pup here.”

Natalia pondered for a moment and there was the nagging thought that maybe the brothers might not be able to help at all. That though was a bridge that she would cross when she came to it. Right now the first step was to get to this guardian. It seemed that he had the answers that she would need. She looked up at the brothers said, “Alright, lead on.”

It was a short journey seemingly for the basin was actually a means of transporting anywhere throughout the dream realm. One just had to know how to activate it. It was a peculiar sensation for Natalia as she was transported to an area that looked like something out of the haunted forest in the Wizard of Oz. The trees that she was seeing were dead and the ground was littered with dead leaves and she was willing to bet that she would be able to see the animatronics with their glowing eyes. She looked questioningly at the youngest brother and he gave, “This is up to the whim of the guardian. One time it was a monstrosity of pink clouds and those silly people with painted faces. They looked like demons.”

Natalia wisely said nothing though she did find it odd that he was abhorred by the idea of being surrounded by clowns. Then again they weren’t like the honored painted warriors of her people. Silently she followed preparing herself mentally for anything that may happen. She was rewarded when one of the brothers declared that they had made it to the gate. To her it looked like a huge wooden door that was stuck into a wall like structure with no windows. She stood in front of it and stared at it trying to figure out how to open it.

“The way is shut. It is guarded by one with regret. Yet to wreak havoc is an old habit. The way is shut.”

Natalia turned to see what looked like an old man but he was hooded and it was hard to see the face so she had her guard up. She assumed that he was the one that spoke since there was no one else. She ventured, “I seek the way in.”

The hooded figure gave a nod and repeated its earlier statement. Then it added, “Tis an old spell of days long gone but binding it is. Like poison to the immortal but harmless to mortals. I guard the gate and you seek entrance. Why?”

“To free what was unnaturally bound.” It sounded almost like a question when she said it and Natalia wasn’t sure if she was even giving a correct response. It seemed right to appear deliberately vague or sounded almost preachy and sage like. She paused and then added, “I wish to enter the dream walk.”

That seemed to garner a response from the hooded figure. He replied, “You seek to free the bound one under the terms of the dream walk. It will test you by throwing things from your past into your path in order to prevent you from reaching that door. At the center is the key but to work it only your eyes can see.” The hooded figure motioned to the door where from it a loud click occurred as if a key were turning in a lock. The door remained shut though as the figure continued, “You must do it alone.”

Child of the Water spoke up, “And yet the presence of a guide is permitted.”

“Are you saying that you are the guide? Only one is permitted,” the hooded figure replied. It then looked at Natalia and said, “You must choose.”

That was unexpected for Natalia. At least it was better than facing it alone. However the fact remained that she had to choose which brother would accompany her. Both had good qualities and she was unsure of what she would find during the challenge. Monster Slayer was better at the physical fighting since he was the one that seemed to always get sent out but his brother was the one that was steadfast and patient. Perhaps that would be needed since there was the chance that guidance with patience would be needed.

The answer came when she saw an old friend fly in and sit in a nearby tree. Natalia couldn’t help but give a grin. She glanced at the brothers and then at the eagle. She motioned to the younger brother and both nodded in consent. It would be risky. Natalia looked at the guardian and replied, “I made my decision.”

****

“That first challenge seemed too easy to me.”

“Perhaps it is a means of getting the challenger adjusted to the others?” Natalia looked at her companion as he sat on her shoulder. She had chosen Child of the Water but with a few minor adjustments. The inspiration came when she saw the eagle just watching them with interest. Courage and patience were Nana’s words that had been spoken often and Natalia thought that it would be useful in this.

It took effort but while speaking to the guardian, Child of the Water melded with the spirit of courage and took its form. The guardian was confused for a short time but since it was one guide, there was no problem. Monster Slayer was left behind and Natalia got the feeling that he would be waiting in agitation until he saw his brother again. She could say that she felt the same about getting back to her baby.

“That is a possibility. This is the dream realm and it could be that it is reacting to you. Anything is possible,” Child of the Water replied before fluttering the wings of the body he was inhabiting. It was uncomfortable since the body belonged to someone else and he technically possessed it. It was even stranger when Courage allowed it as if it knew. Then again the spirit came when it knew that it was needed. “This is uncomfortable.”

“I thought you and your brother would be used to it. Don’t you possess humans in order to vary out your duty?” Natalia kept her eyes forward as she talked to her guide.

“We have our own vessels that we use,” Child of the Water clarified. “Possessing is something that demons do. To take without permission or an occupied shell… it’s disturbing. It’s like having two voices in your head.”

Natalia gave a slight hum has she continued forward. “I have no idea how that feels.”

“And I hope you don’t.”

Natalia was about to say something when she saw something that caused her to stop. She didn’t think that this could be a challenge but then again it seemed to be a favorite of people. Standing in front of her was her husband and her sister in law. They were standing there waiting for her, looking at her with sorrow and expectant faces.

Child of the Water felt her pause and peered ahead. He saw the figures ahead and looked at the girl. He asked, “You know them?”

“My husband and his sister,” Natalia replied still looking forward. “They died in a car accident and only I and Jerry survived. I promised Anna that I would take care of her son should anything happen to her and raise him like my own.”

Child of the Water looked at the scene before him. The first challenge had been a challenge of riddles related to the dream world and the history behind it. It was relatively easy and let her answer the riddles, which she did with ease. This one was facing a regret form the past. Leave it to the ancients to use things like that. “Then I assume that you know what you have to do.”

Natalia nodded and she walked forward aware that Child of the Water had left her shoulder to watch from a perch that afforded a good view. She walked forward to the figures and stood before them. She didn’t say anything but stood there looking at them.

“It is strange in this place Nati. We are here and we are not here.”

Natalia breathed and replied, “So you are here as part of the spell’s protection… Ray.”

The one who looked like Ray gave a nod. “We are a product of what is in your mind as well as what the earth remembers of us. Right now you seek to find the key and unbind the one who rules this realm.”

Natalia nodded, “Yes. Perhaps it is one small step to being forgiven for not telling you that I saw yours and Rena’s death before it happened.” She sighed as she continued, “I saw it and did nothing but thought it to be a bad dream. How wrong I was.”

“You were wrong but you don’t need to dwell in what was and what will be.” Ray reached out and touched Natalia on the cheek as he used to. “Let go. It is the only way that you can move forward.”

“But I have. I made a life with Nana and Jerry,” Natalia replied trying not to respond to the touch that was so familiar. It was like picking a half healed scar in order to create more pain and yet Natalia remembered what Nana said about scars. They could protect you but in the in all it served was to keep pain locked away. When a scar faded, that meant that the pain was acknowledged. The wound would still be there but the burden lightened. Granted that wasn’t exactly how Nana had worded it but the lesson as still the same. “I need to get past to get to the key.”

“Yes you must,” Ray replied, “But you must find the key to this door. Something is holding you at this door.”

Natalia paused a moment. Was this a joke? It had taken time but she was sure she had gotten past the whole blaming herself for Ray and Rena’s deaths. Unless it had something to do with the recent things that she had found out. She ventured, “I may have gotten past thinking I could have done more to save you and Rena but learning that I may still have been the cause of it…”

“The demon thing? Who knows why you were chosen Nati and maybe the demon killed us to try and push you in the direction he wanted but what matters is what you choose to do with the abilities you have.” Ray then removed his hand from Natalia’s cheek and took a step back.

Natalia wished that the touch could have been longer but she had a job to do. Then Rena spoke, “Just remember Nati, your abilities are of both the demon and your heritage. You have the chance to achieve power. Do what you want. The world is your oyster.”

Natalia gave a slight nod. She then felt a prompting, the words that she needed to say. Out loud, she said, “I choose to help another like me. The demon may have given me whatever but I will not be his pawn.”

It was like a pain across the heart as she watched the shades of Ray and Rena disappear. It was only a test but Natalia was beginning to see why the brothers had questioned her so along the way. Some tests were meant to hurt as such but Nana had always taught her to face it. She learned to accept the deaths of her husband and sister in law but she really hadn’t gotten past it. There had been some things that kept her from seeking something outside the life she had built the last year. This challenge allowed her to see it and she defeated it.

Continuing forward, she said, “I guess that is why when my people prepared for their spirit journey, much time was needed in preparation and only when they were truly ready.”

“I am sorry that you had to go through this,” Child of the Water began.

“It is all right. I understand more about the warriors of old and what you and your brother face. Let us go.” To prove that she was all right, Natalia started forward with determined steps. She tried to guess at what the next challenge was going to be.

It was a silent walk through the tunnel. Natalia took some time to study the appearance and figured that like everything else in the dream world, it was shaped to the dreamer’s mind and thoughts. Some were just better at it than others. For her, it looked like a vast cave like that old mining tunnel she once explored when she was a little girl. She could make out tool marks and the markings the miners used to differentiate. She took it all in as she and Child of the Water walked through to the next challenge.

****

It should have been him. He was supposed to look after his brother as he had promised their mother just before they went to retrieve their father’s remains from the underworld or hell or whatever the mortals called it. Hell he was the one that went out to slay the monsters even though his brother did watch his back and helped on occasion.

Monster Slayer looked over at the guardian who was just sitting on a stump and doing nothing in particular. He was tempted to try one of his tricks to get past the guardian in order to get into the vault or whatever the buzz word was for the challenge. If he was caught though, it could spell serious consequences for his brother and the girl. The spell could activate other measures that could prove deadly and he was not in that business. His job was to protect humanity but he also had a duty to his brother.

Agitated by the waiting, Monster Slater decided to see how his brother was doing and pulled out his amulet and stared into the swirling sea of it. Nothing happened and he tried not to growl in frustration. Instead he sighed and clutched the amulet in his fist.

“Part of the rules. One guide and one guide alone.”

Monster Slayer looked over at the guardian and scowled. “So you’re saying I can’t even talk to my brother?”

“That is the rule.”

“Well that’s just peachy,” Monster Slayer replied as he stared forward at nothing in particular. Waiting and patience was never his strong suit and it seemed that everything out there knew that and took pleasure in exploiting it.

“This is not just a test for the girl but a test for you and your brother,” the guardian then uttered. “You have always done everything together or separated but knowing the state of the other. This is to see how well you function.”

Monster Slayer turned to look back at the guardian and asked, “What do you mean? Who are you?”

The guardian lifted his head but he never lifted his hood. He looked at the warrior brother and replied, “The spell was put in place by the demon but it was no coincidence that I was placed here. I was told to let myself be bound to it so that I could let the human chosen to break it pass through.”

“So you are one of us?”

“One of those that guard the gates to the realm of enlightenment,” the guardian replied. “I was chosen because of an incident that occurred. Because of that, I was told to watch, wait and help.”

“So how are you going to help?” Monster Slayer looked at the guardian with a dubious expression. He was suspicious about the whole thing.

“I am here instead of some other guardian who would probably have given you a riddle or a challenge to just get in and probably kill your human anyway. Besides who ordered me here is not important. What is important is that your human is here to break the spell and has one of you guiding her and one of you out here to help the chosen messenger.”

Monster Slayer had lived a long time and he and his brother had never interfered nor were interested in the politics of the champions or chosen ones, etcetera. As far as he and his brother were concerned, they watched the mortals and protected them. Other protectors they never crossed as a general rule so to learn that this was all centered over a chosen one was more of an annoyance. “So this is about a champion?”

“Partly,” the answer came. “This is the one who is absolution.”

Monster Slayer looked at the guardian. He had heard of that prophecy and in some circles it was considered a legend or a myth. In fact in every culture around the world there was a tale of a warrior that would come with the power to forgive. It wasn’t too hard to think of it as being plausible since his and his brother’s favorite filly Thunder of the Sky had two offspring that were alive today. As he was thinking about it, something happened. He felt a shift that indicated that the dream god was in the move.

“Something has happened.”

“You can say that again,” Monster Slayer replied as he opened his palm to peer into his amulet. Not only was it useful to contact his brother, it was also handy to check upon the lineages and any unusual disturbances within the mortal realm. What he found was disturbing and he had to do something. He stood up, torn about leaving his brother alone but this demanded his attention. He had to do something.

****

Natalia felt a shiver up her spine as she stared at was surely the worst in terms of nightmares. She certainly couldn’t see herself as cold and lifeless as what she was seeing now. She wondered if that was what she would become if she made the choice and sided with the demon that did whatever it did to her. She felt the fear rise but she kept her demeanor calm yet she felt like she should have something in her hand like her tomahawk. She didn’t bother to glance at Child of the Water since he wouldn’t be able to help except give a hint or something.

Child of the Water studied the doppelganger that had appeared in front of a large oak door. When they had arrived, nothing was there and the girl tried to open the door. Unfortunately the door was sealed shut with a thick lock. It was obvious that they needed a key but as to what and where the key was, that was something that they really didn’t have time to search for.

Then the doppelganger appeared citing that they were almost there but they needed the key. It said it in a taunting tine similar to what a demon would do. Unfortunately Child of the Water couldn’t do anything about it and wished that he could at least talk to his brother. The problem was that the rule was one guide and one guide only and apparently that extended to contacting via their usual methods. So now he was perched on an outcropping watching.

Natalia stood looking at the copy of herself. The only differences she could note were the inky black eyes and the cruel smile. She said, “Stand aside foul creature and let me pass.”

The doppelganger laughed, “You still have to find the key. Can you figure it out?”

Suddenly there was a rumble and the doppelganger gave a knowing smile. It was rather creepy to see it coming from a face that was molded in a face of evil but Natalia got the feeling that whatever that noise was, was far from being good. It was confirmed when the doppelganger said, “Oh my. It looks like the party is getting started in the mortal realm. Morpheus is on the warpath.”

Natalia knew that wasn’t good. If the dream god was manifested in the mortal realm, then that meant that Sam, Bobby and Austin were walking into a trap and the dream god was powerless to protest against his orders. She started forward only to have her way blocked once again by the doppelganger who said, “You still need to find the key. Tick tock, tick tock.”

Natalia looked up at her guide who was just sitting there and then back at her double. She had to get past this person and break the spell. She was running out of time and…


	17. Chapter 17

Sam had no idea what was wrong with Bobby or Austin. They were both coming at him like he was the enemy. Bobby kept trying to shoot him with rock salt and Austin looked like he was going to swoop down and drain him of blood. All he could do was keep moving and use the buildings to hide and try to get inside and maybe get his brother to help… if he could be reached at all. He paused to take a breather and look around at his options.

It all started when that new thing came out. It was human in appearance and when Austin said it was trouble, Sam took a chance and took a shot with his shotgun. It became readily apparent that the new thing was not a demon but something else. Was it the god that the warrior brothers were talking about? It turned out that it was the dream god and the demon was using him to full force.

Austin was the first since he was the closest. Sam didn’t understand why he would suddenly attack until the vampire called him an abomination and attacked. Sam was lucky that the strike didn’t break his arm but it jarred it pretty good. Sam was good at the type of fighting that Dean taught him and could be equivalent to brawling but what the vampire was doing was more like Angela’s fighting style only this time it was with the intent to kill.

Sam countered the best he could and managed to get his hands on a beam and gave the vampire a good one across the head and went to find Bobby. The grizzled hunter greeted him and asked if he was all right before apologizing and came after him. Now Sam was running around trying to keep himself alive and wondering what was taking Natalia so long. He peered around the corner of some busted vehicle to see if he was being hounded or not.

When he turned to look back, he came face to face with the god. Startled, Sam fell backwards and looked up at the god. The strap of the sword fell off his shoulder and clanked to the ground. Seeing it as a last ditch effort, he yanked it out and flung it in front of him, pointing it at the god.

“Where did you get that?”

Sam frowned at the question. This wasn’t the kind of behavior to expect from a god who turned his friends against him. He held his stance while looking for any sign of the vampire and Bobby.

“They won’t come unless I call and I don’t want to.”

“Well that’s a relief,” Sam replied. He wasn’t about to trust the god any time soon.

Morpheus looked at the human pointing the sword at him. He had seen a sword like that once before but it was a long time ago. He was impressed that the human was showing no fear but that was nothing compared to the boy’s determination to get to his brother and the girl. He said, “I don’t want to but I am being forced to.” The god then turned his head towards the building he emerged from. With a swipe of his hand noise happened. He then looked back at the boy. “I don’t want to hurt you or the others.”

“Well we’re kind of at a cross purpose,” Sam replied. “From my understanding, you are hurting my friend and my brother. Why should I listen to you?”

Morpheus could admit the boy had a point but he had a point too. “You wouldn’t have sent someone into my kingdom to free me.”

“How do you know that?”

The god smiled, “It’s my realm. I know what goes on more than you know and for what it is worth, I thank you. I know my sister wanted your friend to help but that was before she found out what the demon wants with her.”

Upon hearing that, Sam raised the blade up ready to strike. “Why her and why Dean?”

“No idea completely except that it might have something to do with a yellow eyed demon. I hear things and the demon seems to answer to him.” Morpheus glanced around. He didn’t have much time before the demon caught on that something was off. Too late. “Run.”

“What?”

 “Run boy.” The god looked regretful. “I don’t want to do this but if I don’t… The trick is to wake them up. It is a waking dream.”

Sam took a few steps back when Austin and Bobby appeared. Bobby had a shotgun raised at him. Wake them up. And how in hell was he supposed to do that? The thought then occurred to him that if he could wake them up then he might be able to do the same for Dean. That was if Dean was under the same influence. There wasn’t much time for Sam to think of anything else since Bobby was about to pull the trigger. Taking a chance, Sam dove behind some other heaps of junk and took cover just as the shot rang out. He had to keep moving though especially since Austin was the faster of the two.

Austin caught up to him first by surprising him as he rounded the bend. The vampire grabbed him and flung him aside as if he were nothing. At least that separated him from Bobby. Sam grimaced from being thrown around and struggled to get back up. He looked up at the vampire and said, “Austin, you have to stop. It’s me. Sam Winchester.”

That seemed to get Austin to pause slightly. That was a chance. Sam tackled the vampire and pinned him knowing that it would only work for so long. “Austin you need to focus. We have a friend that needs help. She needs help.”

****

Austin didn’t know what hit him. One minute he was standing next to Sam and the next he was seeing black eyes and smelling demon blood. He kept searching for the source and it kept running away from him. He had to hunt it down. It was what he had been trained to do. Once he had it but then he lost it. The scent lingered on the air however and he kept up the search.

He caught sight of it again along with another hunter. He wasn’t one to share when on the hunt but this demon was evasive. Perhaps two were necessary. They followed the demon until he disappeared again. Austin left the other to hunt on his own. He had the advantage of scent. He could never forget that scent.

He found it and threw him aside to catch him off guard. Using his speed, he advanced upon it like it was nothing. He would be rid of this one. Then the smell would be gone.

“Austin you need to focus.”

It was a trick. Austin knew this and kept advancing. Demons lied all the time. Their word could not be trusted. The abominations couldn’t be trusted either. Why she trusted them was beyond him. They were tainted and doomed to serve the demons.

“We have a friend that needs help. She needs help.”

Austin knew who the demon was referring to. A closer look and the image shifted. He recognized the person and hesitated. There was something familiar about that image and he searched his memory even though the scent was strong.

“Austin. It’s me Sam. Angie needs help.”

The image cleared and he saw Sam’s face clearly. The scent was still there and he realized that he had been following the traces of the demon blood in the boy’s body. He had been trained to seek out that scent and for a while he thought that Angela had been wrong when she said that the special cases deserved the chance to make a choice. He shook his head to clear the last of it away and saw Sam in a sitting position on the ground. Frowning he replied, “You don’t to tell me twice about Angie.” He held out his hand.

Sam took the proffered hand and stood up. “Glad you can join us.”

“Tell me about it. Damn that god is good.” Austin rubbed his forehead.

“Morpheus?”

“I’ve heard stories about his strength and I’m betting your demon does too. He hit us hard by playing on our worse fears and things we normally would keep hidden.” Austin then looked at Sam with a frown. Something didn’t make sense. “I’m surprised you weren’t affected.”

“Special case?” Sam offered. It was too much like the Croatoan case and he wasn’t even sure how Austin would take it.

Austin accepted that for now. In fact he had an idea that was the case. He gave a slight nod, “Alright so next step?”

Sam wasted no time. “We need to wake Bobby.”

“I’ll deal with that,” Austin replied as he looked around the corner. It looked like the god was stretching the limits in terms of his bondage. “You go in and do what you have to. I’ll follow once I got Bobby on board.”

Sam was surprised at how well that Austin took charge of the situation. Even more so was the fact that he offered a plan. He looked around to find that he didn’t have the sword.

“I’ll keep Bobby busy. Get the sword and go in.” Austin wasn’t bothering to look at the boy. He was busy keeping an eye out for the god and Bobby Singer. “When you see an opening, take it.” He then took off in a low slump. There was also the demon that hadn’t been exorcised. He would take care of it.

Sam was going to say something when Austin left. He gave a look at nothing in particular and peered around to try and find an opening. A crash sounded and taking a breath, he came out of his hiding place. The Orion blade was lying there in the dirt and he scooped it up. The next stop was the main building.

****

“So Angie, did you think that you could just hand over Sam like that?”

Angela frowned in confusion as she subtly jiggled her wrists. She was almost free. She looked up at Dean and asked, “What are you talking about? Why would I do that?”

Dean pointed at her and nearly shouted, “Don’t lie to me little blood bitch. You used Dad to get to Sam. Why don’t you just admit it?”

Angela was still frowning in confusion. She could still see the image of John and he was smirking at her. She glared at him and at the demon that was standing there. She replied, “Dean, you know that I wouldn’t do that. I’ve been chasing Yellow Eyes.”

“Right because that was what you were trained to do… wasn’t it?” Rhagos smiled as he prodded Dean. His mouth was close to Dean’s ear so that his influence was strongest. “I mean that is what your sniffer tells you.”

“Angie?”

Angela knew that this game was going to continue one way or another. What the demon was trying to get out of her was something that she was ashamed of even though she had gone to great lengths to keep the others straight about the difference. It was something that she hoped never to tell unless it was absolutely necessary. She could go with her best tactic and that was stalling. She replied, “You know, is it Rhagos, right? You know Rhagos, the whole catch me and then interrogation/torture… it’s a bit clichéd in my book.”

Rhagos had no idea what she was doing switching topics like this. According to the god, the solution was strong enough to keep her in a hallucinated state. The way she was acting was as if it didn’t affect her at all. Still he could go with this. He could still twist her words but he would find a way to bring it back to the one thing that would definitely push Dean’s buttons and over the edge. He replied, “You would know something about that wouldn’t you? After all it was probably one of the more life changing experiences you’ve ever had.” To imply that he knew what he was talking about, he stuck his hand out and touched Angela’s right side.

Angela tried not to react and succeeded in making it look like she was repulsed by his touch. It also loosened the arms of the chair enough. She could get free. She replied, “You’re touch is like having ants crawl over the skin.”

“Why not? After all it is roughly the same area where you like to stick it to your victims.”

“If you mean demons like you then I say yes to that,” Angela replied with a glare. She looked at Dean who was digesting every word that she was saying. She wondered how much of it was the truth that was getting through to him. “Dean, Rhagos is not your friend. Hell I’m willing to bet that he killed Ramos and made it look like it was my fault even though it was Sam that killed that demon.”

“Dean hears you but is he really listening?” Rhagos looked at her mockingly. “You see little pretty, you are not the only one that is good with words. Hell I am betting that Dean is wondering if you used that little specialty your vampire kin use to seduce their feeders. After all you are pretty good at it.”

_“How strong is yours?”_

_“Strong enough to make you do something and you’re unable to control it.”_

_“Show me.”_

Angela remembered that conversation when she told Sam about her second most potent ability. This was what she feared when she told Sam and later Dean. The doubt about her and whether or not everything she said was genuine. Time to end this. She looked up at the demon and said, “A gift shouldn’t be abused.”

“You’re right. It shouldn’t be abused,” Rhagos replied. “The sad thing about you is that you are so afraid of using it. You’ve become weak… a shell of your former self.”

“There’s still a bit of the old me left.”

“Really?”

Angela looked up at the demon and gave a sly grin. “Really.” In lightning fast movements, she yanked the arms off the chair ignoring the burning pain that was pulsing through her wrists. It was enough to startle the demon and allowed her to push Dean to the side to avoid getting him hurt. She made sure that he was out of the way by putting herself between him and the demon. She didn’t have a plan but she was good a improvising.

Taking advantage of the pieces of wood, she gripped them in her hands and used them as weapons against the demon. She expected the demon to retaliate and countered accordingly. She struck with the pieces of wood but they instantly shattered, freeing the ropes from her wrists allowing her to use her hands.

Rhagos didn’t see that move coming when she yanked the armrests off of the chair that she had been tied to. He had been sure that she wouldn’t risk injuring herself considering that those ropes were of the specialty kind. He had tortured quite a few of the halfings to learn tolerance levels but this was unheard of. It caught him off guard enough to allow the bitch to give him a few good blows.

He countered by blocking her next set of strikes and effectively shattering the little toothpicks she was using. It allowed him a good view of the nasty red welts and broken blisters that were on her wrists and bleeding. A look at her face showed half healed cuts from when ‘old friends’ gave a nice smack to her face. The blisters would be a nice piece of leverage but the biggest was right behind her.

Rhagos didn’t fail to notice how she put her back to Dean Winchester. He didn’t know if she was being stupid or if it was the drugs still in her system or she really was holding out against a faint hope but she was clearly putting herself in a position to be attacked from both sides. Dean was still under his control and the only way that was ever going to change was if she killed him and her best weapon was not in her possession. He looked at Dean. He was close. All he had to do was keep her distracted enough and play his cards right. He began circling her and said, “You figured out your next step?”

“Improv is my best quality,” Angela replied. She really didn’t have a plan and this was being made up as she went. The faint sounds outside told her that something was going on and she hoped that it would be Sam. He knew best how to handle his brother. If that were taken care of, she could take care of the demon and maybe those stupid hallucinations. She could still see John and he was taunting her and she was having a bad headache. She couldn’t let that bother her as she circled the demon. She had no weapons except her hands and she held them up ready to go.

Rhagos grinned at her. He made slight motion with his hand and then launched into an attack. He launched into a series of punches like what the bags of meat called brawling. She countered but a few of his punches made it in and he caught her across the face. He put everything into the punch and he watched her stagger back pleasure. She was not one hundred percent and while disappointing, it was fun. He grinned and asked in a mocking tone, “Taking more than you can chew?”

Angela bent until the strength of the punch. Normally she could take that much punishment. It occurred to her that it was the drugs and the dream king’s influence but she was used to it after all the tests he put her through. Then again maybe he hadn’t given all he had and this was something new. She found her concentration waning and it was annoying. She was going to have words with Morpheus if she got out of this. She retorted, “I’ve had worse.”

“Really?” Rhagos was surprised that she was still standing. He made his move and pinned her against the walls grabbing her wrists. He applied pressure and allowed her blood to run over his hands. He took pleasure in her wincing in pain. “Oh what’s the matter? Your wrists hurting?” He then flung her with all the force he could muster and watched as she crashed against the window. He flung the excess blood off his hand before bringing it up to sniff it. “What a nice smell. I can see why you are considered special.”

Angela felt her elbow hit the glass and she slid down the wall. She watched as the demon looked at her blood and sniffed it. It brought back memories of those times. She looked at her wrists and the broken blisters. She narrowed her eyes in anger as she got up and said, “And I’m sure yours would taste good if it weren’t tainted.”

“And you would know something about that wouldn’t you?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.” Angela was tired of this and launched into attack mode. Old techniques that she used resurfaced as she was filled with the desire to kill this demon in the coldest way possible. She was flung against the wall but she countered by twisting her body to allow her feet to touch the wall. Using it as leverage, she pushed off and launched herself at the demon and they collided with tremendous force. “May you receive absolution in hell.”

Rhagos laughed out loud as he allowed himself to be pinned by her. He replied, “You know as well as I that if you really want my influence to end, you will have to kill me. Think about it. As long as I’m alive then Dean will always be susceptible to my influences.” He shoved her off and was up instantly. He dusted himself off and advanced, “So you see if you really want to do what you promised, you’re going to have to find a way to kill me and correct me if I’m wrong but you have nothing.”

“I was hoping you would say that.” Angela then revealed the length of rope that she had been tied up with. It was burning her hand but it was worth it. She launched herself forward and grappled the demon, taking care to wrap the rope around his neck and applying pressure.

Rhagos felt his air constrict and the burning sensation. He didn’t expect that but he still had one trick to play. He asked while struggling to breathe, “So your old ways aren’t totally lost after all then. Was your time with Lenya what made you into the thing you are now?”

Angela gritted her teeth as she pulled harder. She grunted, “You know nothing. I hunt your kind because you are a menace.”

“And what of the one that you failed to save. One that is more like your human puppy?” Rhagos knew that he had her. “Why don’t you tell Dean what you were and who you killed?”

Angela heard the familiar tang of Absolution and leapt away. She was surprised to see Dean wielding it with an expertise that was similar to her own. It wasn’t surprising that Absolution was allowing this. It sensed that there was an evil that needed to be vanquished and would cooperate especially if it was in the hands of someone with virtually a good heart. She backed away and was pursued by Dean pointing it at her. “Dean?”

“Tell the truth, Angie. Did you kill a human?”

Angela glanced at the demon who was smirking at her. There was no way out of it. Even if she could try for the demon, Dean stood between the two of them and she was not going to hurt him. The game was coming to an end here. She looked and saw not only John but Mary was there as well and she put a hand to her temple. They looked at her and John said, “Why not tell the truth? It might have made things easier but no you betrayed our trust. You used us.”

“Shut up.”

"I’ll shut you up if you like Angie and permanently. I won’t let you turn Sam over to the demon.”

Angela gave a sigh, “Alright… alright. You want the truth?”

Dean pointed the sword at her. He was aware that it was wrong to be doing this but he didn’t know what to think. He knew she could be very persuasive… how could he make sure? Hold her at knifepoint with her own sword? It seemed like a good idea and he would be damned should anything happen to Sam. He was not going to do what Dad had told him he might have to do. “Spill it blood bitch.” It felt good to classify her like the other things he hunted. It made it somewhat easier but not quite.

Angela stood there and held her hands up to indicate that she was no threat and possibly surrendering. Like a dam, it burst forth as she began, “I was a demon slayer, a specially trained type of hunter to track down and kill demons. We trace them through the scent of blood.”

“Like rabid hounds your kind was,” Rhagos interjected.

“Yes,” Angela agreed with a heavy heart. “We were trained to hunt and kill without prejudice. Until I met my first psychic.”

“And you killed him?” Dean eyed her with suspicion.

“I didn’t want to Dean,” Angela replied. “I tracked him through his scent like the demons and right away I could tell it was different. I could smell the human part and I hesitated. He tried to kill me with his powers. I countered and in the end I killed him. He made his choice and I tried to convince him not to.”

“Yes and that worked so well in the end,” Rhagos replied, “Your hesitation tends to get people killed.”

Angela narrowed her eyes at the demon and diverted them back to Dean and focused on them. “That may be the case. After all it got Mary, your mother, killed and I didn’t fight hard enough to stop John from making the deal. Hell I am a failure at keeping the basest of promises and not a day goes by where I don’t blame myself. Frankly I’m tired of it.”

Angela noticed that there was a flicker in Dean. Something must have connected but it was quickly gone. Hell she tried. She shrugged her shoulders, “Let’s face it, you are right Dean, I’m not human and I’ll never be. You want to protect Sam, then kill me and keep at it with the search for Yellow Eyes. Use Absolution to do it.” She walked forward until the tip touched her chest. “Just keep thinking that you are ridding the world of something evil and it will be fine.”

Dean was shocked at that revelation. She killed because it was necessary. Yet she set the demon free that was after Sam. Thoughts warred within his mind as he stood there with the tip of her sword pressed to her chest. The next thing he heard was the crash of a door and Sam’s voice, “Dean!”


	18. Chapter 18

“Well played Sam, well played.”

Sam looked at the dead demon as Austin held it within his heart while he maintained a firm grip on his brother. How he managed to wrestle Absolution away was something beyond him but at least he had Bobby’s help.

He had taken his opportunity when Austin got a hold of Bobby’s attention and grabbed the Orion blade and headed in. Sam would have charged in but the conversation had him pause. He listened as the demon fought with Angela and brought the conversation back to things she had done in her past.

Angela had been good at diverting attention from it but Sam could tell that she was losing resolve and he wondered if they had done something to her. He inwardly winced at the sight of her wrists. They looked worse than the first time he had seen them like that back in Grant. He had to admire the fact that she was strong enough to ignore the pain on her hands when she wrapped the rope around the demon’s neck.

When he saw Dean pointing her sword at her, he was about ready to spring into action but something held him back. He too was curious. He knew that demons twisted the truth and lied and he never doubted that Angela would tell the truth. Something inside told him that while she may do some things that could be questionable, she had been nothing but honest with them. What he heard surprised him.

He knew that she had been a friend of Mom’s and hunted with Dad but to hear that she blamed herself for it? Plus there was the accusation of Dean’s that she would make him go dark side. Sam found that ridiculous but he could see the basis within it. Dean had always been the more careful while had been accused of being too trusting. A thought then occurred to Sam that it could be jealousy which was also absurd. He remembered though how Dean acted when he had that last nightmare. It was like what the old man mentioned: this was a means to weaken their fragile partnership.

He was nearly startled when Austin joined him with Bobby and both whispered angrily at why he didn’t do anything. Sam gave a mumbled excuse and let Austin take the Orion blade while he said that he and Bobby would take on Dean. The best plan was to charge in and hope that it worked. They were just about ready to put the plan into action when Sam watched as Angela stepped forward and practically told Dean to kill her. For reasons that he couldn’t name, he charged in and shouted his brother’s name out loud. It got the reaction that they wanted and allowed for him to tackle his brother and grab his upper body while Bobby grabbed the lower half.

Austin managed to spear the demon which was probably a good thing since Sam noticed nothing but blind rage. At least that he thought it was even though the vampire had that cool demeanor about him. Sam looked at his brother who was looking around confused and then at Angela who was sitting against the wall slumped over.

Sam released his brother and approached her and kneeled. “You okay?”

“Is Dean alright?”

Sam resisted giving her his bitch face and took a glance at Dean for her sake. He looked back at her and replied, “I think he’s okay.”

“You might want to have him smudged to be sure,” Angela replied.

Sam gave a slight chuckle as he offered her a hand up. “Natalia said the same thing.” He was relieved when she took his hand and he helped her up. He didn’t let go her hand as he gave a cursory look at her wrists.

The moment was interrupted by Dean shoving Bobby and him aside to look at Angela. Sam held out a hand to prevent Austin from doing anything and said, “Dean, enough. It’s over.”

“You’re right Sam. This arrangement is over.” Dean glared at Angela and his brother and walked out of the building leaving everyone else in there. He brushed by the god Morpheus who came in to check on everyone before returning to his realm.

****

Natalia was not sure how she did it but she figured out that by facing the worst fear, which was herself becoming one of those demons, was the key to where the spell was. It was rather crude but she flung her doppelganger at the door and it broke open allowing her to walk through to the center.

At first she thought it was a mistake when she appeared in a room that was similar to the place where she met the brothers. There was a stone basin in the center and the room was circular… like it was something out of one of those fantasy castle stories. She looked over at Child of the Water and asked, “Is this the right place?”

“You have completed the challenges and made it to the apex of the spell,” the guardian’s voice came through as he appeared before the girl and the eagle. “I would have thought that it was clear. You have come full circle. What is the beginning is also the end.”

Natalia frowned slightly as she pondered the guardian’s words. Somehow though it didn’t feel right considering that the challenges had been physical, mental and emotional and it raised questions. She asked, “So you are saying that the spell was composed of the challenges?”

“Mostly,” the guardian replied, “however there is still one more challenge to undertake and that is there.” He pointed at the basin.

“And what am I to do?”

“Just look.”

Natalia glanced at the eagle and the bird shrugged its wings. It was a rather strange thing to do but then again this was the dream realm. Things formed were unique to the individual. She would be wary though. Slowly she approached the basin and peered over the edge.

The water that was still in the basin shimmered when she peered over the edge and she was shown the images of the battle that was occurring at that abandoned property. She saw Sam being pursued by Austin and Bobby like he was one of those creatures and then she caught sight of the dream god looking regretful. “He’s not a bad person is he?”

“He is a natural force. Humans need their dreams in order to work through the issues that they face,” the guardian replied. “Do you think he is a bad person?”

Natalia watched as the god tried to give Sam time to take on his friends to wake them up. She could understand. The dream god was a necessity and quite powerful in his own element but when it is abused by those things, the demons, then there was the potential for tragedy. She said, “No. It is the one who holds him that is the one that must be dealt with.”

The guardian merely nodded. “Then end it.”

“How?”

“You have to figure it out.” The guardian shrugged his shoulders as he sat down. It had been a weary battle when he took on the shadow that was guarding this room. He had to give the girl a fighting chance and he had the older brother to help after he convinced him to leave the players as they were. It had been a hard battle but now the last piece could be completed.

Natalia looked around for any sign of what she was supposed to do next. She knew that Child of the Water wouldn’t be able to help her so she might as well figure it out on her own. It took a few moments until she saw something familiar. Was it possible?

In the corner of the room was a bunch of herbs growing. She could recognize a few off the bat. She knew what she had to do. She had to purify the area and the basin. She knew the ritual just as Nana had taught her.

The room smelled of herbs, particularly the white sage and sweetgrass. It was on the last line of the chant that she was reciting while she was dancing and waving the herbs around, she felt the pulse. It was like being hit with one of those gentle earthquakes. She felt the rumble under her feet as she finished. She stood stock still as the area around her shimmered. “What just happened?”

The guardian stood up. She had done it and the god was free. He replied, “Morpheus has been freed.”

Natalia frowned. “Funny but somehow I felt that it should be more than that. If a simple cleansing within this real was the only thing needed, then why the challenges?”

“The challenges serve as protection. The actual formation of the spell varies and since this is the dream realm… be satisfied,” the guardian replied, “Go back and live your life.”

“That’s it then?”

“That’s it. Life is full of twists and turns. Some are easier than others. Just remember that you have a choice.”

“But what about…”

“They have their own path,” the guardian interrupted. “One day your paths will cross again but right now you just concentrate on your own life.”

Natalia was about to say more when the familiar sensation of her waking up started to occur. It was like she was brought in for one thing and then that was it. It was disconcerting but then again maybe that was the point. She let herself wake up.

****

It was late for Sam since he was usually an early bird but they had a long night and Dean needed the sleep since he fell unconscious after Nana and the old man did their cleansing ritual. It was actually luxury lying in bed but it was ruined by the fact that his thoughts were on what happened the night before. What was foremost on his mind was the conversation he had with Angela after getting Dean settled.

He found her in her room searching for something in her bag. As far as he could tell, she hadn’t let anyone treat her wrists and had in fact been hiding them. He tried not to startle her and was rewarded by her saying, “Come in and shut the door Sam.”

What followed was something that had Sam thinking the whole night. After risking getting his ass kicked by snatching what turned out to be a first aid kit from her hand, he took charge and bandaged her wrists trying not to react to the condition of them. “Say what is on your mind, Sam.”

Making a slight face, Sam finished the job and began cleaning up. He asked, “Angie, I—I overheard what you were telling Dean and I…”

“What I said is the truth… the short version. Yes I killed a Halfling but only after he made the choice to go dark side. After that, survival instinct kicked in.” Angela shrugged her shoulders as she hugged her arms while staring out the window.

“That’s not what I meant,” Sam replied. “You told Dean to go ahead and kill you. Why?”

That was a good question and the answer she gave surprised him. “I don’t really know. Maybe I did at one point think that you two would be better off without me around. Maybe I thought it was a final payment for my sins. Or it could be that I was throwing Dean off since he seemed determined to go through with it. Everything and nothing I guess.” She then gave a humorless chuckle and added, “Five hundred years and the shit adds up. Maybe that’s why I spend so much time alone. Probably was for the best.”

Sam didn’t get anything more out from that but her answer bothered him even after he left wishing her a good night. He seriously wondered if she felt everything that happened was her fault. It could explain the few hunts where she went kamikaze on them but somehow Sam felt it was deeper than that. Unfortunately that kind of depth required trust and after this, he was certain she was not going to open up and probably leave them. Sam found that he didn’t want that to happen and wondered if Dean meant what he said. He hoped that he didn’t.

The other reason he hoped not was because he had that dream again. She was dying and she was alone… again. It was bad enough that he still had nightmares about Jess but these just made his day worse since they were just as bad as keeping him awake. He never could shake the feeling that Angela was supposed to be in their lives for a reason. He had to convince Dean to let her stay. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the radio click on to some station playing one of Dean’s favorites and his brother shouting, “Rise and shine, Sammy.”

Sam sat up slowly even though he was wide awake and went about his business getting ready for the day. At least he could think about what to say to Dean and make his case. He doubted that the puppy dog eyes were going to work.

It was an awkward silence while he and Dean started packing up to hit the road. Sam was packing his duffle when he came across the Orion blade. He frowned over why he still had it and figured that he must have forgotten to give it back. He held it up and looked at the dull looking blade. He only had to say the words that she had taught him and it would look similar to the sheen Absolution got.

“That thing killed a demon? Nothing much to look at. You better give it back so we can ditch this town.”

That sounded like a cue for Sam to begin his campaign. He made a slight frown as he wrapped up the blade and said, “Dean… about what you said… did you mean it?”

Dean paused a moment. He knew what he said and he did mean it. Right now he was in a confused state about Angela. He knew she wouldn’t do anything drastic unless it was the last choice on earth and even then she would still search for an alternative. He was also pissed that he was a demon’s bitch. The demon made a convincing case even though he knew that they lied but it was very convincing and then when she admitted as much about Dad, Mom and the whole thing… it was better to just get away and be angry with her. He replied, “You know when I say something I mean it Sam. This thing we have… it’s over.”

“Why?”

“What?”

“Why Dean? Dude seriously we have issues too that could be twisted around to sound just as bad.”

Dean looked at his brother to see him challenging him to answer the question.  He replied, “Really Sam?” He gave the look that asked Sam if he were crazy. “You really want to inspect that? Let’s face it she’s a five hundred year old freak and who knows what she’s done in that time? How many people has she killed, innocent humans? And I’m not talking directly. I’m talking about people who trusted her to get them through like Mom and Dad.”

Sam knew this was going nowhere. Dean was determined to make her into a monster. He still had to try. “She stayed away Dean. Mom was the one that tried to contact her but she stayed away until she died.” It was the truth but not the entire truth. It could make things worse later but he could deal with it then.

“And Dad’s deal? She summoned the damn thing, Sam.”

“She tried to make it her deal. In fact she tried to stop him from doing it.” Sam sighed ready to give up. “Dean, she didn’t even know why she goaded you to try and kill her.”

“Maybe she saw the truth at last. She may be half human Sam but that doesn’t mean she’s all human. This is over. She can hitchhike on out of here or stay.”

Sam would have said something when a knock sounded at the door. He went to open it to find Natalia standing there. Upon questioning her he found that she had come to say good bye and to thank them.

****

“Well I’m heading back. You boys are welcome to come, take a couple of days off,” Bobby looked at the brothers uncertainly.

After Natalia said her farewells, he came by and saw that some sort of argument had been going on. From the look on Sam’s face, he could tell that it wasn’t one of those piss games they always played but something serious. He wisely said nothing about it figuring that it had to do with everything that had happened the past couple of days. Angela had been in the same mood when he dropped by to check on her and he figured it was something that they would have to work out on their own.

One thing he learned about the Winchesters was that they were not that big on sharing feelings especially if it was of a sensitive nature. Problems were not really talked about unless they were forced to sit and talk. So Bobby left well alone and announced that he was heading back to Sioux Falls. He waited for some sort of response.

Sam began but was interrupted by Dean, “Actually Bobby, I figured we’d spend it on the road and look for a new hunt.”

Bobby gave a slight nod, “Alright then. You boys watch out for each other and don’t be squeamish about giving a call.”

“We will,” Sam replied as Bobby got into his car and took off.

Dean waited until Bobby was out of sight before turning to Sam and saying, “Well I say we hit the road too. You can tell the blood bitch that we’ll drop her off in the next town and that’s it. And give back that hunk of metal of hers.”

Sam said nothing but gave his bitch face. He didn’t want to do this but he wasn’t going to fight Dean on this one either. Not when his brother’s back was firmly against the wall on this. “Fine.”

Sam trudged back into the motel and down the hall to Angela’s room. Sighing, he knocked on the door. There was no response. He tried again but this time called out, “Angie? It’s me Sam. Can you please open the door?”

Again there was no response and it had Sam worried and going through a feeling of déjà vu. He still had the key so that might help. He was about to put it in when someone asked, “Sam?”

Sam looked to see the front desk clerk coming towards him. He frowned in suspicion as he replied, “Who wants to know?”

“I have a letter for a Sam. The person who delivered it said that you would be at this room. She told me to catch you before you started breaking down doors… whatever that means.” The clerk held out the envelope. “Are you Sam?”

Sam replied, “Yeah that’s me,” and took the envelope. He was puzzled when the clerk held out her hand. It then dawned on him and he handed over the spare key. He waited until the clerk was gone before opening the envelope.

It was courtesy stationary but the writing was done with an artistic hand just like how she wrote in her journal. Sam wasn’t sure if he wanted to read it since he knew that Dean would be impatient and chomping at the bit. Then he thought that Dean could wait a few minutes. He pulled the slip of paper out and unfolded it.

_Hey Sam,_

_If you are reading this that means that you are standing outside my door trying to come up with the best way to tell me that Dean doesn’t want my sorry ass around right now and that he pretty much made you do it. It’s a coward’s way for me to do this but in the end it is probably the best. I just want to thank you for advocating for me. Most would write me off right about now so your defense is most welcome._

_I decided that separation would be best for now. You and your brother are adept at keeping each other out of trouble and you don’t need me bringing you more. I will stick by what I promised your father and keep an eye on you both just not how we had been going. Maybe if things work out we could try again. Like I said before, working in a team has been good for me. Besides families shouldn’t fight._

_I may not be around but I will leave the option of calling me open. If you do need someone to talk to, I can handle that. Seems to be one of the few things I’m good at. You can also leave a message for Akira. The princess knows how to get a hold of me too. Keep the Orion blade. You never know when you might need it and stay out of trouble._

_Your Friend,_

_Angela_

Sam read it again to see if she left any indication of where she might have gone. All he got out of it was that maybe she had overheard him and Dean talking earlier when he tried to plead on her behalf. He hadn’t wanted that but it looked like it turned out that way. She was gone and she wasn’t likely to come back. Probably not for a very long time. Maybe that was a good thing since it would allow Dean to mellow out and he could try to convince him to bring her back.

Slowly Sam read it once more and his eyes locked on the last line of the second paragraph. It became much more clear. She once said that she wouldn’t come between him and Dean. At first he had thought it to be a peculiar phrase she used but it made much more sense now. She left because she did not want to create a division between him and Dean. She was trying to fix things like she always did. Sam smiled at the thought as he carefully folded up the letter and tucked it into his pocket. He went back out to where Dean was waiting and said that she had already gone and fibbed about another case.

****

It was early the next morning when Bobby heard the doorbell rang. He grumbled as he trudged down the stairs of his house. He had gotten back late even after flooring it and had maybe only gotten a few hours sleep. It wasn’t restful either since his mind was on the situation regarding the boys and Angela.

The doorbell rang again and he shouted, “Hold ya damn horses.”

When no reply came, Bobby thought it was someone from town or one of those Jehovah’s Witness’s folks. They were always coming around trying to preach to him and convert him. Like that was ever going to happen. He figured that whoever it was happened to be a really a patient person in general considering how long it was taking him to get to the door.

He was cautious though and made sure that he had his usual weapons handy. In his line of work, it paid to be prepared. The doorbell rang again to indicate that the person was still there. Finally Bobby made it to the door. His shotgun was within grabbing distance and his hand was on the doorknob. He slowly turned it opened the door. He peered around the edge expecting to see someone in a suit and was surprised at what he saw.

“Hi Bobby.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap for Dark Secrets. Thank you for reading. Leave any and all reviews. They are good for the creative soul and stay tuned for the next episode: Souls Ameliorated.


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